Hi, I'm Ms. Kumar and I'm really pleased that you've chosen to learn with me today.

Today's lesson is called, "Trolls and Harassment" And it's a part of our unit, "Media influence.

How can I look after myself?" Some parts of this lesson might be upsetting or uncomfortable.

We strongly recommend that you do this lesson with a trusted adult.

If at any point you do find anything upsetting or uncomfortable, please pause the video and speak to a trusted adult.

The outcome for today's lesson is, "I can describe the harm that online trolls and online harassment can cause and explain ways to manage this." Before we begin any learning, let's just remind ourselves of those all important ground rules.

Laura reminds us to listen to others.

It is okay to disagree with each other, but we must make sure that we listen properly before we make any assumptions or decide how to respond.

And if we do disagree, we must make sure that we challenge the statement and not the person.

Andeep reminds us to respect one another's privacy.

We can discuss examples during the lesson, but don't use names, descriptions, or any other detail that might give away the identity of anyone, including ourselves.

Izzy reminds us that it's okay for us to choose our own level of participation.

Everyone has the right to choose whether or not they want to answer a question or join in a discussion.

We must never make anyone feel put on the spot.

And finally, Jacob reminds us, no judgement.

This should be a safe space for us to explore beliefs and misunderstandings.

We must not judge anyone for what they say.

Throughout today's lesson, you'll notice that there are some words in bold black font.

These are keywords.

Before we begin any learning, let's take a quick look at today's keywords and their definitions.

Online troll.

An online troll is someone who deliberately says mean or upsetting things on the internet to get a reaction or cause trouble.

Harass.

To harass is to repeatedly annoy, bully, or disturb someone in a way that makes them feel unsafe, uncomfortable or upset.

Abuse.

Abuse is to hurt, mistreat, or control another person on purpose, either physically, emotionally, or verbally causing harm or pain.

Discrimination.

Discrimination is when people are treated unfairly or differently because of things like their race, gender, or beliefs.

And hate speech.

Hate speech is illegal language used to insult or attack others based on things like their race, gender, or beliefs.

Today's lesson is split into two parts.

Let's start with part one.

What is online trolling? The internet can be a place to have positive or good interactions.

For example, Jacob says, "My friend congratulated me on passing my piano exam!" That's an example of a positive or good interaction online.

Sam says, "My cousin posted a photo of us fishing on holiday last summer and my family all wrote nice messages." Again, this is a positive or a good interaction.

However, sadly, the internet can also be a place where negative or not so good comments or interactions take place.

Here are some examples of some negative interactions.

"Someone in class commented on a photo saying I looked ugly." "I posted about an online game hack and someone told me I didn't know what I was talking about." "I made a comment about a celebrity and I received loads of posts back calling me a hater." Online trolls, normally just called trolls, are people who use the internet, especially social media platforms, to deliberately harm, harass, or abuse other people online.

This behaviour is referred to as trolling, and if someone is a victim of trolling, it can be extremely upsetting.

Often, trolls will make comments online that they wouldn't do in real life because they have a feeling of anonymity being behind a screen.

Anonymity means that people don't know who they are.

Sometimes they will have an anonymous social media account.

Other times they might even use a fake identity.

Even though the comments are online, these comments can still have serious real world consequences for people, including an impact on their mental and physical health.

Often trolls are people that we don't know or don't know very well.

If your social media account is set to public, this means that you can receive messages from people that you don't know.

That means you could experience trolling more easily.

It's a really good idea to make sure that if you are using social media and that your trusted adults have agreed that that's okay, you should have a private setting.

That means that you can control who is able to contact you.

Trolls aim to deliberately cause harm with their comments and their posts.

To do this, they might do lots of different things, including using hateful language, using discriminatory language, making insults, making threats, deliberately provoking an argument.

This is sometimes called, "Baiting", And even sharing someone else's information without that person's permission, and that's sometimes called, "Doxxing." There are many reasons why trolls may leave hurtful comments online.

Some of those reasons might include the following.

It could be for revenge.

Sometimes people feel as though they have been insulted and so they want to get their own back.

It could be because of boredom.

People who are bored online might be looking for opportunities to attack what other people have said.

It could be for entertainment.

Creating online drama could be a way of creating entertainment for some people.

It could be just because some people like to argue.

Sometimes comments will be made because somebody disagrees with something that someone else has posted.

Other times people might not even care about the post, but they just want to get into an argument.

It could also be to gain attention.

For some people, trolling can be a form of attention-seeking behaviour.

Time for our check for understanding.

Which of these could be an online troll's motivation? Is it A, to provide helpful feedback? Is it B, to make friends online? Or is it C, to provoke or upset others? Feel free to pause the video, have a little think, and then just press play when you're ready to move on.

How did you get on? The answer is C, to provoke or upset others.

Well done if you got your answer correct.

Trolls' comments can come in different forms. Some comments might be to mock or be sarcastic.

For instance, "Another 'Expert' decides to have an opinion." The word, "Expert" Here is in inverted commas.

This shows that whoever has posted this comment is trying to be sarcastic and suggest that the person is not an expert.

It could be that trolls want to discredit or belittle what other people are saying with comments like, "Do you even know what you're talking about?" It could be that some trolls are trying to provoke an argument by saying things like, "I can't believe people agree with this - such nonsense." These sorts of comments are trying to provoke an argument.

They're trying to encourage people to respond.

It could also be to invalidate someone's experience.

In other words, say that someone's experience is not valued.

"Don't be so dramatic - you're such an attention seeker." It could be just to insult people.

"You look ridiculous, can't believe you'd even post a picture looking like that." It could also be dismissive.

"No one asked for your opinion - keep your thoughts to yourself." Some trolls will also use hate speech when posting online.

This is to make negative comments about someone because of their race, gender, age, religion, ability, or even sexual orientation.

Hate speech is when someone says or writes threatening or abusive comments that express prejudice towards others.

This is a form of discrimination which the police will investigate.

Sometimes, when people argue back, the online troll may become defensive and say that they're just offering constructive criticism or that it was just banter.

"It's constructive criticism - you can't handle someone being real with you" Is an example of what an online troll might say.

Constructive criticism is a type of feedback that offers clear advice on how to improve.

Making mean, upsetting or insulting comments is not the same as constructive criticism.

Banter is exchanging remarks that are teasing, but in a friendly way.

Online abuse is never the same as banter.

Time for another check for understanding.

Constructive criticism is a valid reason for a troll to comment negatively on someone's social media content.

Is that true or is that false? Feel free to pause the video, have a little think, and then just press play when you're ready to move on.

How did you get on? The answer is false.

Have a think about why.

Constructive criticism is sometimes used as an excuse or a defence for a troll to post mean and insulting comments.

It is not a valid reason to comment negatively on someone's social media content.

Well done if you got the answer correct.

That brings us to the first task for today's lesson, task A.

Task A is split into two smaller tasks.

For task one, you need to decide whether you agree or disagree with the following statements.

"Trolling is when someone posts offensive or provocative comments online to upset others.

All forms of online criticism are hate speech.

Trolling is harmless, because it is online it doesn't have any real world consequences." And, "Some people comment online because they feel anonymous and protected behind a screen." Feel free to pause the video, carry out the task, and when you're ready to look at the answers together, just press play.

How did you get on? Let's take a look at the answers together.

"Trolling is when someone posts offensive or provocative comments online to upset others." This is true, so for this statement, you should have agree.

"All forms of online criticism are hate speech." This is not true, so for this statement, you should have disagree.

"Trolling is harmless, because it is online, it doesn't have any real world consequences." This is most definitely not true, so you should have disagree for this statement.

And, "Some people comment online because they feel anonymous and protected behind a screen." This is true, so for this statement, you should have agree.

Well done if you got the answers correct.

For part two, read the statement below and add two additional sentences to explain why some trolls write negative comments online.

Some people comment negatively online because they feel that they are anonymous and therefore protected.

Feel free to pause the video, carry out the task, and then just press play when you're ready to move on.

How did you get on? Let's take a look at a possible answer together.

Your additional sentences to explain why some trolls write negative comments online could include, "Some people comment negatively online because they are bored and are wanting to create drama.

Some people post negative comments because they are looking for revenge, maybe for an insult they think they have received.

Some people enjoy arguing.

They may not even agree with the point that they are making.

They are just looking for online entertainment." Well done if you've got your answers along those lines.

That brings us to part two of today's lesson.

What are the consequences of online trolling? Being a victim of trolling can be a very upsetting experience.

Because trolling takes place over the internet, online, it means that abusive comments can be sent to people anytime of the day or any time of the night.

For a victim, that can be extremely overwhelming because it feels like there is no escape.

There are lots of consequences for victims of online abuse and online trolling.

Some of the consequences on mental health include anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, shame, humiliation, and anger.

Some of the consequences on physical health might include headaches, problematic dietary and eating patterns and sleep disruption.

In some serious cases, online harassment or online trolling can lead to self-harm, suicidal thoughts.

If you or anyone you know experiences these, you must speak to a trusted adult immediately.

There are ways to manage online trolling.

Some of the ways include not engaging.

Do not engage or respond.

Responding to a troll can make the situation worse.

Report any abusive comments.

Most social media platforms have a reporting function to flag harmful comments.

Block people.

Blocking someone prevents them from being able to find you or contact you on that platform.

This would not apply to all platforms. And make sure that you seek support.

Always speak to a trusted adult if anything is worrying you.

Support and advice is there.

Time for another check for understanding.

Ways to manage online trolling include A, reporting the comments, B, blocking the user, C, arguing back, and D, speaking to a trusted adult.

Feel free to pause the video, have a little think, and then just press play when you're ready to move on.

How did you get on? The answers are A, B, and D.

To manage online trolling, you could report the comments, block the user and speak to a trusted adult.

Never argue back.

That will not solve anything.

There are also consequences for online trolls who write abusive comments.

These can include legal consequences of up to two years in prison.

In the UK, we have laws that prevent people from being harassed.

Repeated online abuse is actually considered a form of harassment and it can be reported to the police.

There can also be online consequences for trolls who continue to write abusive comments online.

Most social media platforms will have strict rules about online harassment.

Users might find themselves temporarily suspended or even permanently banned if they continue to write abusive comments.

There can also be reputational consequences.

That means consequences that affect people's reputation.

If someone is discovered to be writing abusive comments online, it could impact their education or even their job opportunities.

It is really easy to comment quickly and write something that you might later regret.

To make sure that your interactions online are positive, here are some helpful guidelines.

Think before you post - what could be the consequences of your comment? Support others and encourage them to speak out and report abusive comments.

And be a positive voice online.

Always promote kindness.

Time for another check for understanding.

True or false.

Trolling can be upsetting and is a form of harassment, which is a crime.

Feel free to pause the video, have a little think, and then just press play when you're ready to move on.

How did you get on? The answer is true.

Well done if you got that correct.

That brings us to the second task for today's lesson, task B.

For part one, you need to read the case study and highlight four ways in which online trolling has impacted this young person.

The case study says, "It all started when I posted some photos of me on holiday on my social media account.

Somehow someone found my post and started sharing the photos and saying that I looked awful.

I started to feel self-conscious about my body and deleted all the other pictures of me online.

It didn't take long for other trolls to join in, and soon I had negative comments about my appearance on all of my social media accounts.

I became really anxious and I couldn't sleep or eat.

My self-esteem was so low I didn't want to go out or even leave the house much anymore." feel free to pause the video, carry out the task, and when you're ready to see the answers, just press play.

How did you get on? Let's take a look at the answers together.

You were asked to highlight four ways in which online trolling had impacted this young person.

The four ways that you should have highlighted are, "I started to feel self-conscious about my body.

I became really anxious.

I couldn't sleep or eat, and my self-esteem was so low I didn't want to go out or even leave the house much anymore." Well done if you got the answers right.

For part two of task B, give three pieces of advice to the victim of online trolling for how best to deal with the situation.

Again, feel free to pause the video, carry out the task, and when you're ready to see the answers, just press play.

How did you get on? Let's take a look at the answers together.

Your advice may have included the following, "Speak to a trusted adult for support.

Block the accounts that are contacting you.

Report the trolls' comments to the social media platform.

And if the harassment continues, it can be reported to the police." Well done if you've got your answers correct.

You've reached the end of the lesson.

Before we finish, let's take a quick look at today's lesson summary.

The internet can be a place where people have negative interactions.

An online troll is someone who posts hurtful, insulting, abusive, or discriminatory comments.

Some people also post hate speech, which can be threatening and extremely upsetting.

Online trolling can be a type of harassment and can lead to people experiencing an impact on their physical and mental health.

There are legal, online and reputational consequences of trolling.

To manage abusive online comments you can ignore, block and report the troll.

If this behaviour is repeated or is hate speech, you can also contact the police to report this as a crime.

There was some really tricky content in today's lesson, but well done for persevering with your learning.

I hope that you can take away some helpful advice.

If anything in the lesson has upset or worried you, please make sure that you talk to a trusted adult.

Together with your trusted adult, you can find further support and guidance at the following websites.

Childline, a website and phone line which is able to offer confidential advice and support.

CEOP.

CEOP helps to protect children from online abuse and exploitation.

Internet Matters.

Internet Matters teaches children and parents how to stay safe and happy online while using the internet.