Lesson video

Hello, my name's Miss Willow, and I'm going to be your teacher for today's lesson.

Today's lesson is called "Social Media and Conflict" and it fits into the unit "Our Online Lives: "How can being online impact my life?" Before we get going, I want to acknowledge that this lesson contains some issues that might be upsetting to some people.

So you're required to be supervised by an adult when you're completing this lesson, so if you don't have an adult with you right now, please stop the lesson and come back to it when you have an adult with you.

If at any point you do feel upset or concerned, it's important that you stop the lesson and that you speak to a trusted adult.

Okay, let's make a start.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain how social media can escalate conflicts, describe ways to avoid this and explain where to go for help and advice.

Before we get started with today's lesson, we need to go over some ground rules.

These help to make sure that everyone feels safe and comfortable during today's lesson.

First of all, Laura says that we need to listen to others.

"It's okay to disagree with each other but we should always listen properly before we make any assumptions or before we decide how to respond.

When we disagree with someone else, it's important to challenge the statement and not the person themselves." Andeep says that we need to respect each other's privacy.

"It's okay to discuss examples but we shouldn't use any names or descriptions that could identify anyone, including ourselves." If we want to share a story, we can refer to someone as my friend.

This means that we're not going to give away any identifying information.

Next, Jacob says, "No judgment.

We can explore any beliefs or misunderstandings that we have about a topic without fear of being judged by others." And finally, Izzy says that we can choose our level of participation.

"Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or to join in with discussion if they don't feel comfortable.

We should never put anyone on the spot." We're now going to take a look at the keywords for today's lesson and during today's lesson, these are gonna come up in bold.

Conflict, this is a disagreement between two or more people.

And escalate, this is to make a situation become more serious, intense, or dangerous, often by increasing conflict or tension.

Today's lesson is split into three learning cycles.

Our first learning cycle is called "How can social media escalate conflict?" Our second learning cycle is called "How can we avoid escalating conflict?" And finally, our last learning cycle is called "Where can I get help and advice? Let's make a start on our first learning cycle.

How can social media escalate conflict? Social media has many benefits, but it can also cause disagreements to grow quickly into serious conflicts.

So let's take a look at the question why does this happen? Social media has unique characteristics that fuel conflict escalation.

Online communication can be public and instant, meaning many people can see it or they can choose to join in.

Without tone of voice or facial expressions to add meaning messages can be misinterpreted, making people angrier.

Posts can be shared or screenshotted, spreading the conflict beyond just the people who were originally involved.

It's important to remember that what we post online can be permanent.

Ms. Walsh reminds us that once something has been posted, it can't be taken back.

Comments and posts can still be screenshotted and shared widely, even if we end up deleting them.

Ethan reflects on an experience that he's had.

He says, "I only meant what I said as a joke, but now loads of people are commenting.

It's gone way beyond what I actually said!" And Emily says, "Look, it's already on three different group chats! This is getting out of hand." This example shows how quickly online conflicts can spiral.

Ms. Walsh reminds us that online, people often react before they think.

It's easier to say hurtful things when you're behind a screen, and once others start joining in or taking sides, the pressure can build fast.

Add in rumors or wrong information spreading instantly, and a small disagreement can turn into a big problem very quickly.

Let's do a check for understanding to see how you're doing.

I'd like you to discuss this question.

Why can social media make it harder to resolve conflict than in person? Pause the video, talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that messages can be misinterpreted, that more people can join in quickly and that posts can be shared widely.

Well done if your answers for anything like this.

When online conflicts escalate, they can have serious consequences.

Online conflicts can change how others see someone.

So this means it could damage their reputation.

There could be consequences at school.

For example, there could be sanctions or parents and carers could be brought in to discuss what's happened.

There can be legal risks from what we're posting online.

There are emotional effects, such as feeling upset or unsafe.

There could be damage to friendships too.

Some conflicts can become so serious that they involve the police.

This is especially true if what's been posted online is abusive, threatening or discriminatory.

What we post online can be used as evidence that we've broken the law.

For example, if the conflict includes threatening behavior, this is any message that makes someone feel unsafe or scared, if the conflict includes harassment, so repeated unwanted contacts or targeted abuse, hate speech, so offensive comments aimed at someone's characteristics such as their disability, sexuality, race, ethnicity or religion, sharing private information or images without consent or encouraging violence or criminal activity.

These examples show that online conflicts can have real-world legal consequences, not just social ones.

Ms. Walsh shares her experience.

"I've seen small online arguments turn into criminal cases.

If you send threats, bully someone or share harmful content, it can be a police matter, even if you think that it's just a joke.

Always think before you post." And remember that what we post online can be permanent.

Let's do a check for understanding to see how you're doing.

Which of these could cause a conflict to escalate on social media? A, posting screenshots in another group chat.

B, pausing before replying to an angry comment.

Or C, tagging other people to get them involved.

Which of these could cause a conflict to escalate on social media? Pause the video, talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that A and C are correct.

Someone could escalate a conflict on social media by posting screenshots in another group chat or tagging other people to get them involved.

Well done if you said the same thing.

We're now going to put your learning from this learning cycle into practice.

I'd like you to take a look at this scenario.

Ethan makes a joke in a group chat about Tyler who takes offense to the joke.

He gets upset and replies angrily.

Amira screenshots the exchange and shares it in another chat with more pupils.

Liam and Sophie join in, taking sides and adding personal comments.

By the next day, rumors about the argument are spreading around school.

Ethan and Tyler aren't speaking and the head of year is involved.

For the first part of this task, I'd like you to list three moments in this scenario where the conflict escalates, and I'd like you to answer the following questions.

Who is responsible for the conflict escalating and what are the consequences of the conflict? Pause the video and we'll go through what you might have said in a few minutes.

Okay, let's see what you might have said.

For the first part of this task, list three moments in the scenario where the conflict escalates, you might have said that this happens when Tyler replies angrily to Ethan's joke, when Amira shares a screenshot in another group chat, and when Liam and Sophie join in, adding personal comments and taking sides.

Your answer for the question who is responsible for the conflict escalating, you might have said that Ethan started the situation by making a joke that Tyler found offensive.

However, Amira then made things worse by screenshotting the conversation and sharing with more people, which spread the conflict beyond the original group and caused it to escalate.

Liam and Sophie also added to the escalation by taking sides or making personal comments, which increased the tension as well.

For the third question, what are the consequences of the conflict, you might have said that the conflict led to several negative consequences.

So firstly, Tyler was left feeling upset as a result of Ethan's comments.

Secondly, rumors about the argument spread quickly around the school, damaging Ethan and Tyler's relationship even further.

Finally, the situation became serious enough for the head of year to get involved, which could result in school sanctions or parents or carers being brought into school.

Well done if your answers were anything like this.

We're now moving on to our second learning cycle.

How can we avoid escalating conflict? Understanding how to deescalate online conflict can prevent small disagreements from becoming serious problems. So first of all, we can pause and reflect before replying.

We can take some deep breaths and reflect on some questions.

For example, if this person was in front of me, would I say what I'm about to say? And we can also consider how it's going to make them feel, the consequences for us and how we're going to feel as well.

We can also use private messages.

This is especially true if a conflict is evolving in a group chat.

Instead of involving other people in what's happening, we can private message instead.

We can also take it offline and talk in person.

This means that we now have facial expressions and tone of voice, which can help us to understand each other.

We can ask questions instead of accusing, and we can mute or leave the chat as well.

Ethan reflects on his own experience of deescalation.

He says that "the next time a friend sent me a message that made me angry, I waited until the next day to reply.

That way I didn't regret what I said.

When I was angry, I wanted to write something really harsh back, but I knew that that would just make things worse.

By the morning, I could think more clearly about what I actually wanted to say." If Ethan had replied to this message when he felt angry or upset, he might have then gone on to say something that he regretted or he could have escalated a conflict.

By waiting until he'd calmed down and felt better, he's helped to deescalate the conflict or prevent one from happening entirely.

Emily says, "After my friend and I got into a disagreement online, I spoke to them privately in person, and we sorted it out in minutes.

Once we were talking one-to-one instead of in front of everyone else, we could actually listen to each other.

It turned out we'd both misunderstood what the other person meant." By taking things offline and talking in person, we have tone of voice and facial expressions to help us understand what the other person is saying.

We can also think more carefully about what we're saying and how it's going to impact the other person when they're stood right in front of us as opposed to behind a screen.

Ms. Walsh says that when you feel angry or frustrated online, take a few slow breaths and give yourself some time to think before you respond.

Remember that you don't have to reply straight away.

Think about the result you actually want and ask yourself, if a teacher or parent read this message out loud, would I still send it? Let's do another check for understanding to see how you're doing.

I'd like you to decide if the statement is true or false.

When a person's friend gets into an argument or fight on social media, the person should join in to back them up.

What do you think? Is this true or false? Pause the video, talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that this is false, but why? You might have said that joining in a conflict on social media rarely makes things better.

It usually makes things worse, and many people when they post online when they feel angry or upset end up regretting what they've said.

You can support your friends in safer ways, like encouraging them to stay calm, report it, or speak to a trusted adult.

Well done if you said this or something similar.

Some social media platforms have different tools which can help people to avoid or deescalate conflicts.

These may include the options to mute notifications or block individuals if needed.

This means that we don't see what they post anymore or that they're not able to contact us.

We can report harmful or abusive content so it can hopefully be taken down by the platform.

We can limit who can comment or tag us in things, and we can also delete our own posts or comments if they're unhelpful.

Whilst it won't change that other people have seen what we've said, it can prevent other people from seeing it, which can be helpful.

Ms. Walsh says that if you feel a situation is spiraling and escalating, remember that you can mute, block or report and you can always speak to a teacher like me, or another trusted adult.

Ms. Walsh is a designated safeguarding lead and every school has one.

When online conflicts becomes overwhelming, taking a break from social media entirely can be the most effective solution.

You could delete the app temporarily to remove temptation.

You could spend some time outdoors.

Fresh air and movement can help you to refocus and consider who you really are and how you want to be.

You could take up a hobby or activity that you enjoy.

This could be sport related, art, music, or reading.

You can make plans to see friends face to face instead of just online, and you can use your phone for positive things only.

So maybe for listening to music, for learning and for creativity.

Let's do another check for understanding.

You see an argument starting in a group chat that you're in.

What's one thing that you could do to avoid making it worse? Pause the video, talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that you might pause before responding, you might not comment, you might encourage people to talk privately and offline.

You could use platform tools like muting, blocking or reporting.

You could speak to a trusted adult like a parent, carer, teacher or DSL, and you could take a break from the group chat.

Well done if you said any of these things.

It's now time to move on to your second practice task.

David wants to avoid escalations online.

Can you answer his questions to help give him advice? David says, "How can I make sure that I don't get involved in online conflicts? How can some social media tools help to deescalate conflict? And finally, what are good ways to switch off from social media if I've had too much?" Pause the video and we'll go through some model answers in a few minutes.

Okay, let's see what you might have said.

To answer the question how can I make sure I don't get involved in online conflicts, you might have said that you can make sure that you don't get involved in online conflicts by thinking carefully before you post, share or reply.

If you see an argument starting, you can choose not to comment or to share it, and avoid encouraging others to join in.

If someone sends you a message that could start a disagreement or a conflict, it's important to pause before replying.

Take some deep breaths to help keep your response calm or speak to them privately in person.

To answer the question how can some social media tools help deescalate conflict, you might have said that you can use social media tools to help deescalate conflict by muting notifications so you have time to calm down before responding.

You can also block people who are sending hurtful messages so they can't contact you.

You can also report harmful content to the platform so that it can be removed, stopping it from spreading further.

You can also limit who can comment on your posts or tag you in things, which reduces the chances of arguments starting.

Well done if your answer was anything like this.

And finally, to answer the question what are good ways to switch off from social media if I've had too much, you might have said that you can switch off from social media by deleting or logging out of the app for a while to remove any temptation to use it.

You should spend time outside, go for a walk or take part in a hobby that you enjoy, such as sport, music or art.

You could also arrange to meet friends in person so that you're connecting face-to-face rather than only online.

Well done if your answers were anything like this.

We're now moving on to our final learning cycle: where can I get help and advice? When online conflicts become serious or overwhelming, it's important to know that support is always available.

You don't have to handle these situations alone.

Mr. Simons, the school counselor, says that if you get caught up in an online conflict, remember that anything you post can spread fast and make the situation worse.

The safest choice is to pause, think, and look for ways to calm things down or come and talk to a teacher like me or another trusted adult so that we can help before it escalates.

There are many people who can provide support and guidance in a conflict.

Support in school can be found from a designated safeguarding lead or a DSL.

And remember that every school has one of these, a head of year, a form tutor, another teacher that you trust, a member of support staff, like a teaching assistant or a school counselor or wellbeing lead.

Support outside of school can be found from parents, carers or other adult family members, other trusted adults in your community, support services such as Childline and even the police.

We can call 999 in emergencies or if it's not an emergency, but we would like support, we can phone 101.

Let's do another check for understanding to see how you're doing.

Who would you speak to if you were concerned? Pause the video, talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

There are many different answers to this question, and your answer will be personal to you and the adults that you trust.

However, your answer might have included any of the following.

In school, you might have said that you would speak to a designated safeguarding lead, a head of year, a form tutor, another teacher that you trust, a member of support staff, like a teaching assistant, or a school counselor or wellbeing lead.

And outside of school, you might have said that you would speak to parents, carers or other adult family members, other trusted adults in your community, support services such as Childline or the police.

And remember that in an emergency, you can call 999, and if it's not an emergency, but you still want support, you can call 101.

Well done if you had any of these answers.

We're now going to look at a step-by-step guide to getting help and advice from a trusted adult.

Step one is we have the problem.

So Ethan received unkind messages in a group chat for several days.

The comments are personal and they're upsetting.

Step two, deciding to ask for help.

Ethan decides to speak to Ms. Walsh.

He saves the messages as screenshots to show her.

Step three is speaking to a trusted adult.

Ms. Walsh listens to everything that Ethan has said.

She says, "You've done the right thing.

Let's look at these together and plan the next steps." Step four is taking action, and in this case, Ms. Walsh takes action.

The group chat and the comments are deleted and she continues to support Ethan.

Step five is we now have the outcome, so in this case, the messages stop.

Ethan feels safer and more confident knowing that there's a plan and people to support him if anything happens again.

Ethan says, "I was worried about telling someone, but it made things so much better." It's important to remember that if a trusted adult that you speak to can't help, you should keep trying until a trusted adult listens.

In this illustration, someone is asking their mom for help, but their mom says, "Can it wait?" In this scenario, this person should speak to another trusted adult.

Even if the first trusted adult that they've gone to has said that they can't listen to them right now, it's important that they seek help from another trusted adult.

Let's do another check for understanding, and this time I'd like you to decide if the statement is true or false.

If the first trusted adult that you speak to can't help or doesn't take action, keep trying until you find someone who will listen and support you.

Pause the video, talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that this is true.

It's really important that if you ask a trusted adult for help and they're not able to listen or give support, that you speak to another trusted adult for help.

Well done if you said the same thing.

Well done for your hard work in this lesson so far.

Let's take a look at this scenario.

Chloe has been receiving unkind messages in a group chat for a week.

At first, she ignored them, but now people are tagging her in hurtful posts on social media.

She feels anxious every time she checks her phone and she started avoiding her friends at break.

Chloe doesn't know what to do next.

Using what you've learned from Chloe's situation and the lesson content, create a personal quick reference card that you could use if you encountered a similar situation.

Let's take a look at what should be included in your reference card.

Three key deescalation strategies, three warning signs that indicate that you should seek help, and three trusted adults that you could contact.

Pause the video and we'll go through a model answer in a few minutes.

Okay, let's see what you might have put on your reference card.

Number one, for deescalation strategies, you might have said take screenshots as evidence before blocking or muting.

Take it offline and talk it through.

Pause before responding when feeling upset or angry.

So take deep breaths and think about what you're going to say.

For number two, warning signs to seek help, you might have said, "Feeling anxious every time I check my phone," like Chloe did.

Avoiding friends or social situations because of online conflict or harmful content spreading across multiple platforms. These are all warning signs that someone needs help.

And finally, for trusted adults to contact, you might have said at school, your head of year, at home, you might have said your mum or support service, Childline, 0800 1111.

There were lots of different possible answers for this one, and remember that everyone is going to have slightly different trusted adults, but well done if you had any of these similar ideas.

But well done if you had some ideas similar to this.

We're now going to summarize the key learning from today's lesson.

In today's lesson, we've learned that social media can make small conflicts grow quickly, leading to escalation when more people get involved or hurtful content spreads.

We can use deescalation strategies, like pausing before replying, taking it offline, and talking it through, or stepping away from the chat to stop things from getting worse.

If online conflict is serious or you feel unsafe, it's important to speak to a trusted adult, such as a teacher, a family member, or to use support services and remember, in an emergency to call 999.

Keeping evidence, staying calm and acting early will help to protect your wellbeing and your relationships.

You don't have to handle these situations alone.

In today's lesson, you might have found that you've got some worries or questions, and if you do, it's important that you share these with a trusted adult.

There's also some resources on the screen that are there to help you too.

Well done for your hard work today.

I hope to see you again soon.