c2L03 - Psychological and Social Risks

Last modified by Daniel Nübling on 2022/08/03 08:12

Psychological and Social Risks

Although the internet offers a lot of fun, information and distraction there are also certain risks that especially parents should be aware of in order to protect their children. Just like they teach them road safety they should also educate them how to get along well in the digital world. This lesson introduces psychological and social risks and how to address and prevent them in families.

Method / Process description

Exercise "Risk Perception": Start the lesson by asking the group a couple of questions:
1. What is participants estimation of the risks on the internet? Let them rate it on a scale from 1-5, where 1 is not risky to 5 very risky
  - How risky it is for themselves?
  - How risky it is for children?
2. Let participants vote whether road traffic is more dangerous for kids than the internet.
3. Together with participants on the board gather risks on the internet and mark those that kids are especially vulnerable to (for a full collection of risks, see Module 6 > 6.2. Accompanying Children Using Digital Media > Risks for Children and Young People on the Net)

Risks on the Internet

Group discussion: Ask the group whether they ever got in contact with these risks and what their experience was.
Input: Module 6 > 6.2. Accompanying Children Using Digital Media > Risks for Children and Young People on the Net
- Begin by explaining what a risk is (something that has the potential for undesirable consequences).
- Explain that our instincts help us identify risks early by giving us signals, such as a bad gut feeling. This can also be a valuable signal on the Internet: Whenever something feels bad, we should consider it a warning signal and take a closer look at the situation or consult other people. This is one of the most important rules parents can teach their children: If your gut tells you something is wrong, be careful and get help.
- Explain why anonymity online helps keep attackers physically away. They may be able to approach on digital channels, but they have no chance of physically approaching you. The damage attackers can do without knowing your full personal details is also much less. Therefore, it is important that children and teens do not give out personal information, such as name, address, date of birth, what school they go to, to people they only know from the Internet (these topics are covered in detail in Exercise 5 and 6 of this chapter).
- Explain that parents should encourage their children to seek help for problems and talk to children about appropriate counseling services (e.g., phone or chat help lines, local organizations, or school social workers). Some issues may be too embarrassing for children to talk about with their parents, but it is important that they have someone to turn to.
Exercise "What do these people think?" Split the class into groups of 2-3 people. Hand out each group a printed version of the worksheet and give them 5 minutes to fill in the bubbles what people in the images think. Discuss in plenum what solutions the groups found.
- Were the results similar?
- What could be psychological risks for the people in the images. Start gathering them on the board.
- In case not all risks have been mentioned so far, complement the list on the board:
  - Fear and Depression
  - Stress and Lack of Concentration
  - Insecurity and Excessive Demands
  - Feeling Inferior
  - Aggression
  - Desensitization and Loss of Empathy

Worksheet: What do these people think about?

Group discussion:
- Gather examples where children or young people could be affected by the abovementioned risks, e.g. in social media, in class, in video games.
- Discuss what parents can do to prevent these risks (see also exercises 1 and 2 of this chapter), e.g.:
  - Encourage kids to hang out with friends and find distractions outside of digital media.
  - Encourage children to seek help if they have a problem.
  - Watch for signs of incipient mental health problems. Especially if children don't seem to enjoy using digital media, parents should try to find the reason.
  - Prepare children for inappropriate things they may encounter on the Internet.
  - Provide opportunities for children to build their confidence outside of digital media, such as through sports, music, or social engagement.
  - Ensure that media use lasts for a period of time that is well tolerated by the child and does not overwhelm him or her.
  - Discuss with children how performance indicators such as followers and likes work on social media.
  - Explore together that success on social media has a lot to do with financial opportunities and that there are large professional teams behind influencers.
  - Discuss with children what values and norms famous people propagate on social media and whether this makes them good role models.
- Gather with the group help organizations they know in your town and on the internet.
Input: Now let's look at the social risks of the Internet. Give an introduction what cyberbullying means (Module 2 > Communication and Collaboration > 2.2 Negative Effects of Modern Communication > Cyberbullying). Emphasize that cyberbullying is in most cases only a partial aspect and that many attacks additionally take place in the offline world, e.g. at school or other institutions. The special thing about cyberbullying is that the attacker does not directly see how the attacked person suffers. In the offline world, this would often stop an attack.
Exercise: Together with the participants, collect on the board which actors are involved in cyberbullying. Usually, only three actors are named at first: the person affected, the main actor and the bystanders. Try to get a more differentiated picture of the group of bystanders (as in the graphic in Module 6 > 6.2. Accompanying children in their use of digital media > Risks for children and young people online > Social risks). In the second step, have the group collect what each actor is concerned about. You will find out that many actors are motivated by the fear of not belonging to the "strong" group and thus risking being attacked themselves.

System of Cyberbullying

Actors of Cyberbullying

Group discussion: Discuss with participants what they think can help to prevent cyberbullying, e.g.
- Educating about social skills, such as respect, honesty, and encouraging children to stand up for their beliefs.
- Learning how to give feedback in a respectful way to prevent conflicts from escalating.
- Learning how to solve problems in groups.
- Observing group dynamics and watching for signs of problems. Getting participants to talk about the problems and find solutions.
- Promote self-confidence.
- Establish a class code that includes mutually agreed upon rules for getting along.
Input: What to do if cyberbullying happens? In most cases it is recommended to involve a consultant who is specialized in working with groups where cyberbullying happened. Some teachers or trainers might be qualified for this topic, too otherwise social workers in school can help the group to solve the situation. Parents can support the process by talking about the issue with their children in case they are open for it. Avoided blaming even if your child took an active part in cyberbullying. It's more important to see the reasons why he or she took over a certain position in the system and to find ways how prevent such situations in the future.
Reflection:
- Participants watch the Klicksafe video "Where is Klaus" at home. Talk about participants impressions in the next lesson.
  - EN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4GKXsAOYZE
  - DE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHILvEUWiao
- Participants do an online test for assessing their risk of gaming addiction at home: https://www.cgaa.info/self-test-for-video-gaming-addiction/ The questions from this test can also be transferred to other forms of addiction and help to better estimate a child's risk for addiction.