Online Safety
Module 4: Online Relationships and Sexting
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Teenage relationships have always bought challenges but, for some young people, the added element of the internet and social media can amplify these. Young people use technology so extensively and, inevitably, this impacts on their relationships too, with much of the interaction taking place online.
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4.1 Online identity
Any internet user is able to experiment with their identity when they go online. The internet, and in particular social media sites, can often provide a great platform to push boundaries and project a slightly different persona. This can be both positive and negative. There is the age-old problem of knowing who you are actually talking to when you go online, but at the same time it can be a great place to find others with similar interests, faiths, backgrounds, beliefs, ideals and sexuality.
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4.2 The net effect and online reputation
There are six key areas to consider:
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4.3 Sexting
Sexting is a word which describes the sending of personal sexual content, most commonly nude or nearly nude images. The term was originally used by the Australian press about seven years ago, and since then has become a serious challenge for children, young people and their teachers and parents.
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4.4 Sextortion
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Sextortion is a relatively new phenomenon which is causing a great deal of concern. It involves individuals being persuaded to share sexual content, often believing that they are in a relationship (albeit online) with the other person. Once images or videos have been shared, the individuals are asked either to pay a certain amount of money in order to prevent the images being shared publicly, or to send more content, often more extreme. This video provides a brief overview of sextortion and highlights the key issues.
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4.5 Additional Resources
Body Image
Is my image edited? A tool to test whether images have been edited or photoshopped. You can just drop any image or photo into the tool and find out if the original has been altered in any way. Resources for teachers on body image from Dove – this is a set of 3 downloadable lessons which include videos, worksheets and activities aimed at boosting young people’s body confidence. |
Sexting
So you got naked online – this resource was created by SWGfL (part of the UK Safer Internet Centre) and is available in Danish and English. A guide to sexting – from the Greek Safer Internet Centre and available in English, Greek, Spanish, Albanian and French A guide for teachers on how to deal with sexting when it has taken place – the poster aims to limit possible emotional damage for those involved and restore calm and social safety in school. |
Sextortion
Online sexual coercion and extortion is a crime – Europol’s site
Guide to online services – This is part of the Better Internet for Kids website and contains detailed information about over 100 of the most popular apps and platforms used by children and young people. It also includes links to privacy settings, guides for teachers and parents, and other useful resources.
Online sexual coercion and extortion is a crime – Europol’s site
Guide to online services – This is part of the Better Internet for Kids website and contains detailed information about over 100 of the most popular apps and platforms used by children and young people. It also includes links to privacy settings, guides for teachers and parents, and other useful resources.
4.6 Webinar with Snapchat
Webinar on Thursday, 1 March at 19:30 CET
Micah will give an overview of Snapchat and of privacy and security features for young people using the app. He will talk about the resources available to support teachers/parents/caretakers and users. |
4.7 Webinar with Facebook
Webinar on Friday, 2 March at 17:00 CET
During this webinar, Julie will talk about some of the child safety features on Facebook and raise awareness of some of the resources available to support teachers, parents and young people. |
Module 4 Quiz