The internet is wonderful thing! it allows us to connect our ideas with people all around the world. We can post whatever we want, Share ideas, laugh and cry. But since so many people have access to the internet it can be dangerous. Horrible rude people can hate, trash-talk and bully. This can ruin someones self-esteem. But this doesn’t mean we shut off all connection with the internet. The world is moving to a digital age and we need to be ready to matter what comes our way!
In health I have been learning about online behavior and what we can do to be safe while online. I use google, Youtube, instagram, whatsapp etc. These apps can be dangerous but this unit taught myself and my class how to stay vigilant while posting.
In the unit, we covered critical thinking, Empathy, respect and responsibility.
CRITICAL THINKING…
Critical thinking is being able to analyse what your doing carefully and know if it’s worth doing or not. In class we watched a video about a boy and is friend who saw a video about someone jumping off a bridge. They were going to attempt this. But luckily they both used critical thinking and they chose not to do it. Critical thinking can be applied to the internet when posting a post, the post you send could affect someone and critical thinking could prevent you from posting something nasty.
EMPATHY…
Empathy is putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and feeling how they are feeling. The video we watched in class showed a boy listening to a band until he noticed on the Tv a boy surrounded by destruction but has a shirt with the same logo of the band. This made the boy realize that no matter where someone is everyone is the equal. This is just a visual representation of empathy. Empathy can be applied to online behavior when you are commenting on someones post. you can put yourself in their shoes and feel how they feel if someone wrote a hate comment. How would you feel if someone wrote a nasty comment on your posts online?
RESPECT…
Respect is being kind and humble to everyone who is different and have different opinions, experiences and background. Since the internet is all around the world it isn’t rare to find different people. With respect you could gain followers and friends. Everyone likes someone who is respectful. I know I would. Respect is also not just for fellow classmates or parents. In a classroom you have to show respect towards the classroom and it’s rules.
RESPONSIBILITY…
Responsibility is a thing you don’t just need online. You almost need it for everything! But online responsibility is being responsible for things you post, and owning up to mistakes. Responsibility also lies with friendship. If you are good friends with someone you have a responsibility as their friend to help them out in times of need, be nice to them, stand by them. The list goes on. Uncle Ben said to spider-man before he died “with great power comes great responsibility” These are great words with an even greater meaning.
Finally, In health we learn’t about a lot of things. Luckily they all tie together. The result of that is an almost perfect guide to staying safe on the internet. The internet is a versatile yet dangerous place and we need to keep safe. This health unit taught me a lot and hopefully it taught whoever is reading this. And remember “with great power comes great responsibility” -Uncle ben.