Online Safety

On Monday 24 May our Year 7-10 students were fortunate to hear from the ySafe presenter. ySafe's approach is one of a pro-technology ethos, uniquely focussing on the social & emotional components of cyber safety and online behaviours on three major aspects of online safety. Cyber bullying, sexting and nudes as well as online wellbeing and screen time were outlined in relation to safety and the law, relating to each other as well as where to find help when required. Below are some of the various forms of Cyberbullying and their probabilities,

68% Mean messages

41% Posting rumours

39% Nasty comments

35% Screenshotting and sharing

27% Sharing embarrassing photos

18% Fake profiles

Students were taught to use the ‘PROBS’ framework prior to sending messages, as one cannot see emotion and body language, when chatting online and what one is trying to say is not always perceived in the right way. Bystanders, those that ‘like’ posts become part of the problem and can receive the same consequences by law.

Being a good bystander means:

• Reporting anonymously
• Don’t like or share
• Speak up about the issue

Students were enlightened to the laws around 'sexting’, pornography and non-consensual sharing of nudes. The broader social and emotional impacts of distribution of pictures was discussed, and strategies to manage inappropriate requests and peer pressure addressed. In Australia ‘sexting’ or ‘sending nudes’ (pictures showing private parts, posing in a sexual way and doing a sexual act) is considered a crime for anyone under the age of 18.  This extends to private activity (showering etc) showing a person without usual religious or cultural attire and digitally altered footage which includes cartoons. What can be done if an image is shared?

• Report to the platform and report to the eSafety Commissioner
• Reverse Google image Search
• Delete other pictures and videos
• Ask for help
• Support the victims

Online Wellbeing and Screen Time

The presenter discussed the 'brain-hacks' developers use to draw us in to technology and explored the importance of managing screen time, including the impact on study distraction and sleep, excessive gaming, digital validation and self-esteem. Research found that teens aged between 12 and 13 spend 3 hours per weekday and 4 hours per weekend day using screens.

This equals around 20% of your ‘awake’ time on weekdays and 30% of ‘awake’ time on weekends. One questions if screen time is really that bad for you? No. But too much screen time can be a problem. Mood and mental state, imbalance and opportunity cost, health and detrimental inactivity, conflict and personal problems are all affected by too much screen time.

So why can’t our children get off TikTok?

• No defined end point- an endless scroll of videos, with no end cue to tell us when we have watched enough.
• Curated content – Feel like your FYP really gets you? That’s because the videos seen are curated specifically for you.
• Connection – There are plenty of opportunities to interact through the app
• Creator incentives – The potential to become famous makes us check our video stats frequently after an upload

We discussed the concept of online reputations and personal branding, challenging students to think about perception, explore the impact on university and job prospects, and provide strategies for harnessing a positive online image with students in Years 9 and 10.

If you have any concerns or you are aware of situations with which you need to chat to someone please contact either myself or your child’s Head of House.

Helen Del Frate

Dean of Students

Used with permission of ySafe Student Workshop