Helping Young Adolescents Stay Safe When They're Online

            In this School Library Journal article, Louisiana librarian Amanda Jones (2021 School Librarian of the Year) describes how she raised students’ consciousness about their online activity (social media, YouTube, and gaming systems with Internet connectivity). Although almost all of her middle-school students are under 13, most have social media accounts, some without parental permission, some cleverly working around parental controls. Students confide that their parents don’t know about a lot of the inappropriate and upsetting comments and images they’re seeing online. 

            Jones started the lesson by displaying two prompts: 

• Share something inappropriate you’ve seen online. 
• What are several steps you can take to protect yourself online? 

She asked students to reflect for a moment and then write their responses on sticky notes (without their names). Students put their sticky notes on large posters at the front of the library, and Jones read aloud Nerdy Birdy Tweets, a book by Aaron Reynolds about friendship and oversharing online. 

            She then asked students if using Instagram and Snapchat was dangerous for people their age. Everyone said yes. Students then looked at their sticky notes. Responses to the first prompt included fat shaming, racist comments, kids and adults ganging up on one student and harassing them over and over, an adult asking for their address, people sending pictures that were “bad,” and KYS (kids explained to Jones that this means Kill Yourself). In each of the 27 classes at Jones’s school, some students said they’d received this last message. 

            In response to the second prompt, students showed that, at least collectively, they knew what to do: Tell an adult. Take a break from social media. Block and mute the person. Don’t give out personal information. Never post your picture. “Amazing answers,” says Jones. “But when pressed about whether they always follow their own advice, unsurprisingly, students admitted they do not. Most confessed to giving out personal information, posting pictures, and engaging with people who posted cruel or inappropriate comments instead of muting and blocking.” Why? The desire to save face and seem cool, and perhaps the fear of having their devices taken away by parents. 

            The conversations that followed were “extended, deep, and earnest,” says Jones. “It was almost as if they had been waiting for an adult to ask them these questions. The discussion was honest and difficult – and eye-opening for me and their other teachers. The trauma these kids can face while simply playing a game online or chatting with friends on social media did not escape me. I wonder how this generation will be as adults navigating the Internet. Will some become more empathetic after having faced such toxic behaviors at such a young age, or will they continue the pattern as they grow older?”

            The lesson closed with students writing down their biggest takeaways, and Jones posted them outside the library as an ongoing reminder about responsible digital citizenship. 

 “The Dangers in Their Hands” by Amanda Jones in School Library Journal, December 2023 (Vol. 69, #12, pp. 12-13)

Please Note: This summary is reprinted with permission from issue #1015 of The Marshall Memo, an excellent resource for educators.