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GooseberryAlert31ChangingPerceptions–Is‘strangerdanger’anoutdatedconceptonline?

PleaseshareyourGooseberryAlertcontentwithstudents,staffandparents.Allthatweaskinreturnandinthespiritofmodellingpositivedigitalcitizenship:whensharingourcontent,pleaseacknowledge‘GooseberryPlanetLimited’asthesourceofyouradvice.Thankyou.

GooseberryStudent‘Thoughts’oftheweek

Communitiesonlinearemadeupofdifferentpeople,doingdifferentthings.Mostpeopleonlinedonotwanttoupsetusorcauseusharm,buttherearesomepeopleonlinewhodo.

Connecting and communicating online can be fun but it can also be risky. It can bedifficulttoknowexactlywhoyouareconnectingwithandifitissafetodoso.

Exploringthetopic: Whomightyouencounteronlineandhowwelldoyou‘know’them? Whatrisksmightyouandyourfriendsfaceonline? Howdoyouknowwhoyouareconnectingwith? Suggestwhypeoplemightenjoyconnectingwithothersonline. Ifsomeone’sbehaviourbecameaconcern,howwouldyourespond? Explainhowyoumightconnectinsaferwaysonline.

KeyMessages:Theinternetisafantasticresourcewhichcanbefun,friendlyandeducationalbutthepeopleweconnectwithonlinecanposearisktooursafety.Wecankeepourselvessaferbymakingresponsibleandthoughtfuldecisionswhenchoosingwhoweconnectwith,whatwesayandwhatwedoonline.

Pleasesharewithstudents.

GooseberryTeacher‘ThoughtsandDiscussion’oftheweekAlthoughthisisanimportantissue,takecarewhenaddressingitinclasstoensurethatthediscussionisageappropriateanddoesnotunnecessarilyworryyoungerchildren.Werecommendyouacknowledgethemanygoodthingsaboutonlinelifetoo.

Fact:Atsomepoint,childrenwillconnectandcommunicateonlinewithpeopletheyhaveonlymetonline.

Whether you are digitally naïve or a digital native, we all perceive the online environmentdifferently,aslinesbecomeblurredbetweenwhatis‘real’and‘virtual’.Asadults,weneedtore-thinkhowbesttokeepchildrensafeonlineandquestiontheoftenoutdatedrulesthatwefollowedaschildren.

Supportingstudentswiththeappropriateknowledge,skillsandunderstandingtoconnectandcommunicatesafelyonlineisachallenge.Somefamiliarsocialconceptsand‘rules’thatweperceiveaseffectivein‘real-life’(liketheconceptof‘strangerdanger’)althoughstillrelevant,canbemoredifficultforchildrentoassessonline.

Thespeedandeasewithwhichwe form judgementsand relationshipsonlinehasdismantled familiar socialbarriersthatwouldoncehaveprotectedchildren.Recognising,reducingandrespondingtorisksonlinerequiresanalternativeapproachtohelpstudentsstaysaferonline.

The concept of ‘stranger danger’ is outdated online. Although younger children should avoid accepting“friends”theydonotknowinreallife,mostchildrenwillatsomepointconnectwithpeopletheyhaveonlymet online and they need to develop the skills to limit their risk. These risks can include grooming and

Suggestsaferwaystoconnectonline?

GooseberryPlanet–http://gooseberryplanet.comTeachingChildrenOnlineSafety©2018GooseberrySchool–APartoftheGooseberryPlanetGroup–AllRightsReserved

radicalisation (undertaken by people viewed as ‘friends’), as well as drugs, fraud and online scams (usinginformationthatwehavesharedonline).

Are-thinkismostcertainlyinorderandweneedtoteachchildrentousetheirintuition,tobeawareofwhensomeoneisbeingfriendlierormorecomplimentarythanexpected,toquestionthemotivesofsuchpeople,nottobeafraidto“unfriend”orrefusetoreplytosomeoneonline,andtodiscuss itwithatrustedadult. Thisshouldbedoneinanage-appropriatewaybutwemustrecognisethatalthoughwewouldnotallowayoungchildtowalkdownthestreetbythemselves,manyparentsareeffectivelyallowingtheirchildrentodothisintheonlineworld.

Adaptingourperceptionstobetterreflectthoseofthestudentsandtheenvironmentsthattheyareexploringonlinecouldbeonewaytosupporteffectiveplanningforthetaskahead.Thetechnologymaychangebuthavingsecure knowledge, understanding and skills alongside practical strategies could help to keep students saferonline.

Somekeyquestionstodiscusswithcolleagues: Howdoweinstilaccountabilityforbehaviourwhilstavoidingblamewhenmistakesaremadeonline? Howdowebuildconfidencesothatchildrenseekhelpattherighttimefromtherightperson? Howcanwebeproactiveaboutconnecting(safely)withpeopleonlinewithoutactivelyencouragingit? Howcanwegetthebalancerightbetweencelebratingthevalueofonlinecommunitieswhilsthelping

childrenrecognise,assessandrespondappropriatelytoriskswithinthem?

KeyMessages:Tohelpchildrenstaysaferonline,wemustadapttonewwaysof thinkingandchallengeconceptslike‘strangerdanger’.Wemustexploreandunderstandtheconceptof‘friendship’andconsiderhowwetalktoandprepareourstudentsforanindependent‘lifeonline’.Pleasesharewithstaff.

GooseberryParent‘Support’oftheweek

Fortoday’schildren,beingpartofanonlinecommunityisperfectlynormalandisconsideredbythemtobeanacceptablewayto‘makefriends’.Itisinevitablethatatsomestage,yourchildwillconnectandcommunicatewithpeopleonline.

Weshouldacknowledgethemanyadvantagesoftheonlineworldbuteducateourchildren,inanageappropriate way, of the risks. Being aware of who poses a risk and how to safely managecommunicationonlineisalifeskilltheyneedtodevelop.Butweneedtodososensitively,sothatwedonotunnecessarilyworryyoungerchildren.

AnyApp,websiteoronlinegamewherepeoplecanconnectandcommunicatecreatespotentialrisks.Unfortunately,thesitesthatappealtochildrenaretargetedbythosewhowishthemharm.Astrangerattemptingtoengageinconversationwithachildonthestreetwouldlikelybeidentifiedbythechildasapotentialrisk. Thesameperson,playingalongsidetheminanonlinegame,orengaging inanonlinechat,isunlikelytobeseeninthesameway.Usingthe“strangerdanger”terminologyinthiscontextisineffectiveandpossiblymisleading.Currentriskstochildrenincludenotonlypaedophilesbutalsothosewishingtorecruitdrugrunners(oftentacklingyoungerchildrenwhoarelesslikelytobejailedifcaught)andthosetryingtoradicalise.

Speaktoyourchildabouttheriskstheyfacewhencommunicatingandconnectingonline: Inappropriatechatorrequests–empoweryourchildtojustsay“No”.Itmightbesomething

wediscourageinothersituations,butitisthebeststrategyinthiscase! Sharing-avoidsharingpersonalinformationandphotographsonlinethatcouldbemisusedby

others. Grooming–teachyourchildtobewaryofflattery,giftsandunusualamountsofcontact. Communication – ensure that your child is confident about what to do if they feel

uncomfortableoraretargetedonline.Makesureyouarereadytolistenandhelp.Assurethemyouwill not be angry if they admit foolish behaviour online – that their safety is themostimportantthing.

GooseberryPlanet–http://gooseberryplanet.comTeachingChildrenOnlineSafety©2018GooseberrySchool–APartoftheGooseberryPlanetGroup–AllRightsReserved

OnlineFriends–onlyhavetrustedfriendsfrom‘reallife’asfriendsonline. Appsappropriateforage–usingapps,gamesandwebsitesthatareageappropriatecanreduce

the riskofproblems. Following community rules andknowinghow to report inappropriatecontentcanalsohelp.

TurnoffMicrophonesifplayinggamesthatconnectwithothersonline.

Inthenews…Inthenews…Inthenews…Inthenews…Inthenews…AppUpdate:Facebook–YouthPortalhttps://www.facebook.com/safety/youthFacebooklaunchesanew‘YouthPortal’withtheaimof‘EmpoweringYouth’.

Theportalusesclearcontent,designedspecificallywithyoungusersinmindandincludespracticaltipsforusingFacebookservicesaswellasinformationtohelpsecureandmanageanaccount,withstep by step instructions. There is also simplified information aboutwhatpersonaldataiscollectedandhowitisused.Pleasenotethatthisstillincludestheusers’communicationsandcontent, theirconnections, tagsof thembyothers on Instagram, information about their device settings includingcamera,microphoneandlocationinformation,websitestheyvisit,appstheyuseandpurchasestheymake.ThisinformationisnotjustheldbyFacebookbutmaybesharedwithawidevarietyofthirdparties.

WhetherthisisaseriousattemptbyFacebooktoraiseawarenessandencourageuserstobemoreresponsibleonlineorwhether it is justacynicalattempttoattractyoungerusers,youwillhavetomakeyourowndecision.Wanttoknowmore?Visitusatwww.gooseberryplanet.com

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