Hello, I'm Ms. T, and welcome to today's lesson.

Today we're going to be talking about media influence, and in particular, online addiction.

There's going to be a number of sensitive topics that we might discuss as part of this.

So if anything comes up today that makes you feel nervous, or worried, or uncertain, please make sure that you speak to a trusted adult about that.

Okay, let's get started.

Thanks for joining me.

Our outcome for today's lesson as part of our media influence unit is to be able to describe the signs of online addiction and explain how we can manage our screen time.

So today you're going to need to think a lot about how you use the internet, how you use devices, and what we can do to identify signs of online addiction.

Before we get started on today's lesson, it's really important that we think about the ground rules that we follow when we're having discussions in our classrooms. We've got Laura firstly saying, "Listen to others.

It's okay to disagree with each other, but we should listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond.

And when we disagree, we challenge the statement.

We don't challenge the person." We've got Jacob saying, "No judgement.

We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without fear of being judged." Andeep tell us to respect privacy.

He says, "We can discuss examples, but we do not use names or descriptions that could identify anyone including ourselves." And finally, Izzy reminds us to choose the level of participation that is right for us.

"Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or join a discussion.

We never put anyone on the spot." So with those in mind, let's get started with today's lesson.

(mouse clicks) So let's discuss the key words that we're going to be using as part of our lesson today.

We've got five keywords here.

The first one is short-term.

So in this context, it means something that doesn't last very long.

Then we have scrolling, which is a way of moving through online content quite quickly.

You'll find that on a screen, that means that your finger is moving the information down or up.

We've got dopamine, a chemical in the body that gives us a short-term feeling of reward.

Pleasure, a feeling of joy or happiness.

And finally, the word addiction, which means a loss of control over doing, taking, or using something even when that's harmful.

As we move through this lesson, look at how we use these words and in what context they're being used, and see if you can use some of those words in your own responses.

So our lesson outline for today has two parts.

Number one, "What's the signs of online addiction?" And number two, "How can we reduce our screen time?" So let's get started with that first lesson outline.

"What are the signs of online addiction?" There are many signs of online addiction.

But using the internet can make us feel good in the short-term.

Andeep says here, "I'll just message my friend online before I do my homework, because it'll be nice to check in with him." And Izzy says, "I'll have a quick game online with my cousin before I go to bed.

I want to beat his score." And Sam says, "I wonder who that actress in that TV show was.

I'll just check online to see what else she's been in." And so little moments of using the internet that we see from Andeep, Izzy, and Sam here.

The problem is it can be hard to stop if we use the internet too much.

Andeep says, "I've been messaging my friend all evening, now I haven't even started my homework." Izzy says, "I've lost four games to my cousin and it's late, but I'm so annoyed that I can't sleep now." So the impact of her internet use has been to disrupt her sleep.

And Sam says, "I now know everything about that actress.

I've been scrolling on her page for hours and read lots of articles about her." And she only went on initially just to find out the answer to a quick question.

So that means they spent more time on the internet than they'd first intended to.

So when we use the internet, our brain releases dopamine each time we have a response or an interaction.

For example, we might have an emoji response of some kind, a like or a comment on a post, getting something like an extra life or points on a game.

We might get a message from a friend, or we might have a suggested story, or an image, or a reel on social media that draws us in to have a look at it.

And each time we get that, that dopamine is released in our brains.

And for each of these interactions, we reward our brains with that dopamine hit.

Sometimes dopamine's called the pleasure hormone because it's released when we do something that makes us feel good.

If you do something and you receive positive feedback for it, you feel pleasure, and we see an increase of dopamine released in our brains.

Dopamine is a beneficial chemical.

It can encourage feelings of alertness, and happiness, focus, and motivation.

Using the internet can make us feel pleasure in the short-term, but as we've looked at before, it can be hard to stop using it as a result.

When we use social media, we're given short bursts of dopamine, and that's also called a dopamine rush because it comes quite quickly.

And it's that feeling that can become addictive.

It leaves us wanting more or makes it hard to put down or walk away from our devices.

The way we use the internet means that we often interact with it in short bursts.

And this can include scrolling on social media, reading news headlines, watching videos and being recommended another one, playing video games, engaging with messaging platforms, and scanning comments and likes.

All of those things initially only take a short period of time, but each time we do it, we're recommended more, We get another headline, we see another video, and that's the thing that can draw us into the internet for longer periods of time.

Aisha says, "All of these are part of how we use the internet.

But if repeated, they can become addictive." So let's come to our first check for understanding.

True or false? Short bursts of dopamine caused by being online can become addictive.

Pause your screen here while you think about the answer.

Well done.

I'm sure you had some good discussions there.

But if you came up with the answer true, then you would be correct.

Well done.

So certain types of online content can also become addictive.

And that content can include explicit images and pornography, focusing on influencers' or celebrities' content and becoming overly engaged with their online lives, games that involve betting or gambling.

And those behaviours of someone who's developing an unhealthy online habit could include, no longer participating in offline activities that were once enjoyed, struggling to concentrate in school, spending as much time as possible online, sometimes staying online or scrolling late into the night, becoming angry or agitated if asked to stop using a digital device, being worried about what you're missing online.

Sometimes it could be lying about how much time you spend online, and maybe saying it's less time than it really is to other people and maybe even to yourself.

Sometimes the sign is pretending not to be online.

So using digital devices in secret, putting them away when somebody comes into the room.

So let's have a look at our second check for understanding.

Can you identify the true statements? Use a tick to identify it.

We've got the answer A, dopamine produces a feel good feeling that can have many benefits like motivation.

We've got B, dopamine is released when we receive positive feedback for something that we do.

And we have C, dopamine is not an addictive feeling and there are no positive benefits from it.

Pause your screen here while you think about the answers that are true.

Well done.

If you identified that statements A, dopamine produces a feel-good feeling that can have many benefits like motivation, and if you identified B, dopamine is released when we receive positive feedback for something that we do, then you would be correct.

Well done.

So let's think about this second check for understanding.

What are the signs of unhealthy online behaviour? Can you identify which of these are those signs? Does it include hiding internet use, lying about internet use, scrolling late into the night, or occasionally using social media? Pause your screen here while you identify which of these statements are signs of unhealthy online behaviour.

Well done.

I hope that you manage to identify A, B, and C as signs of unhealthy online behaviour.

As we discussed earlier, hiding our internet use, lying about internet use, and scrolling late into the night can all be signs of that.

So now we've got our Task A where I want you to read this case study and identify four signs that Ella's use of the internet is starting to become an addiction.

Here's what Ella's got to say.

"I got a smartphone when I was 14 and immediately joined my friends on messaging platforms and online games.

It was fun at first, but I soon started scrolling late at night and often wouldn't fall asleep till 2:00 AM.

My dad was worried and took my phone away.

I was so angry that I didn't speak to him for the entire week.

I know it's not okay, but now I just lie and tell him that I'm using it for homework or pretend I'm not on it when he comes into my room because I don't want him to take it away again." Can you read that statement again from Ella and see if you can identify four signs that show that her internet use is starting to become a bit of an addiction? Pause your screen here while you think about your answers.

(mouse clicks) So well done.

If you the following four signs that Ella says she started scrolling late at night and often wouldn't fall asleep till 2:00 AM, if you said that she realised she was angry, that she was so angry she didn't speak to her dad for a week, if you identified that she says she just lies now and tells him that she's using it for homework, and finally, that she pretends she's not using her device or the internet when her dad comes into her room, then you've identified successfully four signs of online addiction.

Well done.

So let's move on to our second lesson outline.

"How can we reduce our screen time?" So an online addiction, an increase in screen time, can impact somebody in lots of different ways.

It can impact physical health.

So this could include poor posture from being hunched over your computer, or your laptop, or your phone.

This could include eye strain.

The lights from computers can damage our eyes if we look at them for long periods of time.

And particularly, it can impact our sleep.

So sleep disruption, especially if we use the digital device in bed.

That blue light from screens can disrupt our sleep cycles, and it makes our brain think that it's not time to go to bed.

It can also impact our emotional health.

So for example, it can increase anxiety, depression, and feelings of inadequacy, as people start to compare themselves to others online.

It can also impact by giving us low self-esteem or lack of confidence, especially about appearance because the internet often shows us images, and those images might use filters or editing software to make them look better than they are in real life.

It can also impact our mood and make us quite changeable in our mood.

Withdrawal from screen time can lead to frustration and anger, especially if someone's become dependent on online interactions for those dopamine rushes.

It can also have a reduced attention span impact.

Exposure to very fast-paced online content reduces our ability to focus on tasks that require longer attention.

We used to reading and reacting in very short moments.

It can also impact our relationships and our relationship health.

So if a lot of our relationships are online, a lack of in real life, sometimes referred to as IRL relationships can lead to isolation and not spending time with friends and family.

And it's that online addiction can create conflict with trusted adults as they set limits on screen time and people push back against that.

So let's come to our first check for understanding.

The impacts of an online addiction can include, A, conflict with friends and family.

B, sleep disruption.

C, reduced attention span.

D, increase in self-confidence.

Can you identify which of those impacts come from an online addiction? Pause your screen here while you think about those answers.

Well done.

If you came up with the answers A, B, and C, then you'd be correct.

Conflict with friends and family, sleep disruption, and a reduced attention span are all really clear impacts of an online addiction.

So if you recognise that someone or yourself is starting to develop an online addiction, there are lots of steps that can be taken to help.

The first thing we can do is track our usage.

So most phones now have a setting where we can measure how long is spent online each day and on which type of platforms. So you might say to yourself that you're using it for homework, but actually you can go online and see that you spent more time on social media.

Sharing that usage with others can also help you to reduce that because it forces you to be honest about how you're using your device.

The second thing we can do is to set a goal.

So we can use the information from the digital device usage tracking to set achievable goals.

So maybe saying, "Well, I'm just gonna reduce my screen time each day by 15 minutes." Or saying, "I'm going to use it, but only for a certain amount of time on non-educational online platforms." And when you meet that goal, that goal can also give you the dopamine rush that you may have got from using social media previously.

The other things that we can do include planning real life activities with friends and family.

So share hobbies, play games, exercise, or be creative together.

If you are using the internet, make sure that you take regular breaks.

After 30 minutes of screen time, it's really helpful to take a break, reset your focus, and rest your eyes.

Looking outside, going outside, or looking into nature can also be a really helpful way to make a break from that internet usage.

We could also set ourselves a digital curfew.

So turn off devices at least an hour before bed.

That prevents that blue light from disrupting your sleep.

That can also prevent late night scrolling and improve the quality of sleep that you're getting.

And set limits on your internet use.

Put aside time in the day away from your digital devices.

So when you're eating maybe, completing homework, or spending time with friends and family.

And you'll find that you probably get homework done more effectively, that you enjoy that time with your friends and family when you're not also looking at your phone or your tablet at the same time.

So let's move on to our check for understanding.

Can you complete this sentence correctly using different versions of the same keyword? So you might want to remind yourself of what the keywords were at the start of this lesson.

The statement reads, "Spending too much time on digital devices can become an blank." "Every time someone has an interaction online, this releases dopamine and this positive feeling can become blank." So have a look at those sentences and see if you can use different versions of the same keyword to complete them.

Pause your screen here while you think about your answers.

Well done.

If you manage to get the word addiction, "Spending too much time on digital devices can become an addiction," followed by "Every time someone has an interaction online, this releases dopamine and this positive feeling can become addictive," then you'd be correct.

Well done.

So now let's move on to Task B.

Read the case study about a parent who wants to help their family reduce their screen time, because it's not only young people or teenagers that might have screen time addictions.

Have a read of this case study, and then see if you can come up with five rules the family could follow to help achieve this.

So this parent says, "My daughter is 13 and loves using her tablet, but I've noticed that she's started to become less sociable and wants to spend less time with her friends in person.

I'm worried that she's isolating herself and is starting to develop an online addiction.

She's always looking at other people's content and it's starting to make her feel anxious.

Her mom and I also use our tablets a lot, and I know it doesn't set a great example.

I want to set rules around how we all use our smartphones and tablets, but I'm not sure where to start in reducing our screen time." So both the parents and the daughter are using their screens quite a lot.

Can you think about five rules that they could put in place to help reduce their screen time? Pause your screen here while you think about your answers.

Well done.

I hope you've had some interesting discussions around this task.

So your rules may have included, sharing your online usage data with the rest of the family every week.

So being honest about how much you use the internet.

Making sure that everyone puts their phones away one hour before bedtime, parents and children.

Maybe planning a family activity a few times a week that does not involve being online.

You might have suggested that the family could take up a sport that they could play together.

And finally, having a no digital device rule during meals or when watching television together.

So five really useful rules the family can use to reduce their screen time.

So in summary from today's lesson, using the internet can make us feel good in the short-term, because short-term rewards trigger dopamine, and that can give us feelings of pleasure and happiness.

Dopamine can be positive because it can make us more motivated and more focused.

However, it can also lead to an online addiction as the brain craves more dopamine rushes.

Behaviours such as scrolling late into the night or hiding digital device usage can be signs of an online addiction.

And an online addiction can be harmful to our physical and emotional health, and can also impact our relationships.

We need to remember that there are lots of ways to reduce screen time, such as setting time limits and planning other offline activities.

Well done for all of your contributions today.

If there's a place that you'd like to get support at the end of this session, you can either go to Childline, CEOP, or Internet Matters.

And these are all charities and sites that can support with internet and online concerns.