c2L06 - Physical Risks

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

Physical Risks

Yes, the virtual world also has physical risks for users. The biggest risk though is not having enough movement and eating and drinking unhealthy stuff while using the internet. But there are further risks that parents should be aware of in order to protect their children. In this exercise, risks due to accidents and eating disorders are presented in particular.

Method / Process description

Input: Introduce the topic of physical risks from using the Internet (see Module 6 > 6.2. Accompanying children in their use of digital media > Risks for children and young people online > Physical Risks).
- Explain that the greatest risk comes from too little exercise and unhealthy eating habits while using the Internet.
- List the diseases that result from these habits:
  - obesity
  - back problems
  - cardiovascular disease
  - motion disorders in younger children
- These diseases can cause further problems for children like bullying and low self-esteem.
- Explain why it is therefore important for parents to make sure their children spend enough time playing offline, doing sports, walking to school, riding their bikes,...
- Avoid the habit of combining digital media consumption with food consumption. People are often unable to adequately control the amount of food they eat while doing something else. Also avoid soft drinks as a regular beverage, especially while children are playing video games.
- These measures are also helpful for the health of parents.
Exercise: Split the class into groups of 2-3 people. Let participants research on the internet for 10 minutes which video games and apps they can find that require users to actually move. Get together in plenum and gather apps on the board.

Apps for Moving Kids

Input: Introduce the risk of physical injuries caused by accidents. Illustrate how sever these risks are by giving examples of real cases:
- Accidents in road traffic: Many accidents are caused by distraction through digital media in road traffic: ringing the phone, checking the news, playing games,... That's why parents should make sure at an early age that mobile devices are not used in road traffic (this also applies to parents, of course). To use the smartphone, they should first find a safe place away from traffic and stay there while using the device.
  - Cell Phones Cause 70,000 Crashes a Year on U.S. Roads: https://www.statista.com/chart/9041/crashes-involving-cell-phone-use/
  - Smartphones and the rise of child accidents https://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2013/jun/18/smartphones-and-rise-of-child-accidents
- Accidents in internet challenges: Explain what an internet challenge is and how hunting for likes and views motivates people to take higher and higher risks. Try to find news in your area or country with reports about such accidents.
  - 10-year-old girl dies after TikTok blackout challenge https://www.brusselstimes.com/news/150773/10-year-old-girl-dies-after-tiktok-blackout-challenge-asphyxiation/
  - Skullbreaker challenge: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51742854
- Accidents while taking selfies: again try to find local examples in your country.
  - List of selfie-related injuries and deaths https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_selfie-related_injuries_and_deaths
Exercise "Beauty in Social Media": Split the class in groups of 2-3 people and let them research for 10 minutes on the Internet what image of beauty is promoted in social media, e.g.
- #beauty on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/beauty/
- #beauty on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/tag/beauty
- #makeup on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/tag/makeup
- #mensfashion on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/mensfashion/

Instagram Search

Group discussion:
- What kind of images were most frequent?
- Was it was participants expected?
- Did the also find images that were promoting a different concept of beauty?
- What beauty ideal was promoted when they were young? On which channel did they inform themselves?
- In case you want to touch the topic: does anybody made experience with eating disorders themselves?
Input: Introduce how digital media and especially social media have increased eating disorders with children and young people.
- Explain what contributes to develop an eating disorder (as with developing other forms of addictive behavior there is no single cause or trigger: https://www.anad.de/essstoerungen/ursachen-essstoerungen/):
  - biological reasons (e.g. genetic disposition)
  - individual reasons (e.g. perfectionism, low self esteem)
  - familiar reasons (e.g. relatives who also suffered from the disease)
  - sociocultural reasons (e.g. idealizing thin bodies)
- The role of digital media:
  - Cyberbullying can be a trigger.
  - Beauty and body images propagated especially in social media can negatively influence the individual perspective.
  - Social media is used as a channel where people who are suffering from the disease can either find:
    - Help and support by other affected people: https://centerfordiscovery.com/blog/top-8-eating-disorder-instagram-accounts-to-support-your-recovery/
    - Further aggravation caused by contest-like image challenges or confirmation of unhealthy habits by other people suffering from the same disease
- What parents can do:
  - Show appreciation for your child and communicate empathetically. Although parents often have the best intentions, they often criticize their children when they would rather have help and understanding.
  - Enable children to build their self-confidence.
  - Be aware of early warning signs: https://www.childrenshospital.org/conditions-and-treatments/conditions/e/eating-disorder/symptoms-and-causes
  - Accompany children with their first steps on social media and discuss with them what they see.
  - If kids are interested in the topic discuss what beauty means. There are also a lot of channels on social media that question "traditional", means thin beauty standards:
    - https://www.instagram.com/boycottthebefore/?hl=en
    - https://www.instagram.com/deinkoerperistgenug/
  - If kids get interested in social media address heavily retouched images:
    - Illustrate what photoshop can do (from pizza to model): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j656_RiO0k
    - Discuss if modified images should be labeled:
      - Girl Guides: Enhanced photos need labels on social media - https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-54003536
      - Have a look at regulations in France that require publishers to indicate modified images of models: https://www.liberation.fr/checknews/2018/02/08/depuis-peu-la-mention-photo-retouchee-est-obligatoire-sur-les-publicites-or-je-ne-l-ai-vue-nulle-par_1628407/
  - Provide kids with help offers
Reflection:
- Handout the checklist "Our Family Moves" to participants and ask them to follow the program for the next 4 weeks. After one month talk again to participants if they were successful integrating the measures into their family life.
- Ask participants to try geocaching with their family. There are a lot of local platforms that offers tours and challenges allover Europe: https://www.opencaching.de. There is also a page that informs about local regulations: https://wiki.groundspeak.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=4915879