Hello, I'm Miss T.

And today, as part of our media influence unit, looking at whether the internet is a good influence in our lives, we're going to be focusing specifically on online relationships, what they are, how we can navigate them, and how we can keep ourselves safe online.

So, let's get started.

So, our outcome for today's lesson is, I can describe how online communications can impact relationships and how to communicate safely online.

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.

Today, we're going to be learning about online relationships.

Some parts of this lesson might be upsetting or uncomfortable.

So, we recommend that you are accompanied by an adult.

And if at any stage you feel uncomfortable or upset, you should close the screen and talk to a trusted adult.

So, let's look at the keywords that we are going to be using today.

We've got three key words for this lesson.

The first one is overwhelming, which is the feeling of not being able to cope with the amount of activity or information a person is exposed to.

Then we have the word manipulation, which means influencing someone's emotions to make them do something.

And finally, we're going to be using the word hacking, which means to gain unauthorised access to data in a system or computer.

While we're going through this lesson, keep an eye out for when we use these.

The lesson today is going to take us through two lesson outlines.

Firstly, we're going to look at how does the internet affect our relationships, and secondly, we're going to think about how I can stay safe in my online communications.

So, let's get started with our first learning outline.

So, let's get started with today's lesson.

And we're thinking about how the internet affects our relationships.

So, throughout our lives we will have many different types of relationships.

Some will last for our lifetimes and others will come and go.

Some of those relationships will be platonic.

So, a close affectionate relationship without romantic feelings, for example, with a friend.

They might be professional, a formal relationship, for example, with a work colleague.

They might be a romantic relationship, for example, with a partner, or they could be familial, so a relationship due to blood, marriage, or adoption, for example, with a family member.

So, lots of different types of relationships that we'll have during our lifetimes.

As technology has developed, it's meant that we now have relationships with people in person, but also online.

Jacob says, "My mum works in the office on some days, and has online meetings when she's working from home.

This is called hybrid working." That means a bit of both, working from home and working in the office.

Jun says, "My aunt's girlfriend moved to another city for work, and now they use video chat to talk when they are visiting each other." And Laura says, "When I don't see my school friends at the weekend, I'll message them on social media to see how they are." So, all three examples looking at how we use technology to continue relationships with people online.

So, technology can help us to communicate with our friends and family.

The main ways of doing that, especially online, are group chats.

So, private conversations that happen on messaging apps, games, and social media, and social media messages.

So, for example, when people comment publicly underneath a photo or post or when they direct message, DM, someone privately.

We also have the example of video chat.

So, being able to talk to someone and see them via video technology.

And we can see Jacob and Jun here having a conversation through their video chat app.

So, a quick pause for a check for understanding now.

Social media messages can be public or private, true or false? Pause your screen here, while you think about your answer.

So, well done, if you put down that you thought that statement was true, you would be correct.

Social media messages can be public, but they can also be private.

So, we're gonna to look at an example now.

We've got Aisha, Sofia, and Izzy, and they're all in a group chat.

They use it for lots of different reasons, including to pass on information, to chat to each other, to stay in touch during the school holidays, to plan activities, to share photos and videos, and to ask each other questions about homework.

But what we find is that sometimes people can behave differently in group chats or online than they might do in person.

On Monday afternoon, Sofia messages the group and she says, "My PE teacher is so out of order.

I sit down for one minute and he calls me out for not participating." And she doesn't hear anything back.

So, later that afternoon, Sofia messages again, and she says, "I messaged ages ago, thanks for being such good friends.

Nice to know you care." She's clearly really angry that no one's got back to her.

That evening Aisha messages, and she says, "Sorry to hear about that, Sofia.

It'll all be fine tomorrow, I'm sure.

I didn't get a chance to reply.

I was out with my cousins this evening." And the next morning Izzy replies and says, "Sofia, we weren't ignoring you, we were busy.

I'm sorry you had a bad day, but you could have also talked to us about this in person.

You didn't need to send us that message last night." So, Aisha and Izzy explaining why they didn't reply straight away.

So, although being online can help us communicate, it isn't always the best way to communicate with someone.

And Sofia explains, she says, "I felt really bad that I was so rude in the message to my friends.

It wasn't their fault that I had a bad day or that they were out and hadn't seen my message.

I'm not sure why I behaved like that.

I wouldn't have done this in real life.

I would've just talked to them.

I think I sent the message too quickly when I was annoyed and then I couldn't take it back." So, we need to think about why some people do make mean or abusive comments online.

Well, the internet gives us the potential to quick message people, and that can make us quite impulsive or quick to react.

Also, a lack of face-to-face contact can make us less sensitive in what we say, because we can't see someone's response or reaction.

We can also comment online anonymously, and that can make people feel free from consequence for what they say.

And finally, being online for long periods of time can make people less rational, which means less logical in their thought processes.

So, let's have a check for understanding.

When people comment online, they feel like they're anonymous, because the conversation is not in person.

Do you think that that statement is true or false? Pause your screen here, while you think about your response.

Well done, if you said that you thought the answer was true, then you'd be correct.

Often people feel like they can say different things online than they would in person, because they are anonymous.

However, there are some benefits of group chats and social media.

These can include an easy way to stay connected with friends and family, it's a way to get help from others, it's a way to go in and out of a chat and share information easily, it's a convenient way to chat, and you don't all have to be free to meet up.

You can chat online or video call.

And Jacob says, "My friends reminded me in our group chat that our homework is due in tomorrow." So, a really helpful way of using that.

However, there are also some risks of group chats and social media.

The risks can include online bullying with the potential to send and receive mean messages.

It might be that people feel pressurised to share personal information.

Subgroups can be created, which can make some people feel excluded.

Sometimes distressing or upsetting content might be shared.

And then there's this fear of missing out, meaning you might spend too much time online and stay up late.

So, let's check our understanding so far.

True or false? Group chats can have lots of benefits, but there are also risks too.

Pause your screen here, while you think about your answer.

Well done, if you said that you thought the answer was true, then you'd be correct.

And that's because group chats can be an easy and convenient way to communicate with friends and family, but we must remember that there are always risks such as receiving upsetting content or mean or bullying messages being sent.

So, now we've got some group chat guidance from Laura and Andeep.

Laura says, "A group chat can be a really nice way to communicate with friends, but remember, some group chats can have hundreds of people in them, including people you don't know." And Andeep also says, "Be careful about which group chats you join and who you invite to your group chats.

It's best to make sure you know a person in real life before adding them and remember to never share personal information." We've also got some discussion around how group chats can sometimes feel overwhelming from Sam and Jacob.

Sam says, "Sometimes when I try spend time with my family, I can hear my phone buzzing constantly and when I go back to it, I have hundreds of group chat messages and I feel like I just can't catch up." Jacob also says things like, "People send videos in the group chat that I don't feel comfortable watching, but I don't know how to reply." So, those group chats have made them feel a little bit overwhelmed.

So, if social media or a group chat feels uncomfortable or overwhelming, there is a number of things that you can do.

The first thing is to use the mute tool, and that can prevent groups becoming a distraction.

You can use timers to set when you receive notifications, and this can be set as visible or non-visible to others.

You can just leave a group chat that you don't want to be a part of.

You could start a new group chat, if an existing one does not feel safe.

And finally, you can use the settings on your social media platforms to prevent people adding you to a group chat without your permission.

So, a check for understanding so far.

If you find that the notifications for a group chat are becoming distracting, the best action would be to, A, leave the group, B, mute the conversation, or C, set a timer for when you receive notifications.

Pause your screen here, while you think about the answer.

Well done, if you put that you thought the answers were, B, mute the conversation, and C, set a time of when you receive notifications, you'd be correct.

You could leave the conversation, if messages were too overwhelming, but it might be best to mute or set a timer first.

You can leave the group later, if it doesn't change.

So, now moving on to our task A.

Can you give Sam two pieces of advice on how to manage her online relationships with her friends? Sam says, "I am in a group chat with three other friends, but one of them has started to message all night on the chat.

I don't want to join in, but I also don't want to look rude by not commenting back.

What should I do?" Pause your screen here, while you think about the piece of advice you'd like to give Sam.

So, Sam was looking for some advice on how to manage this group chat that she was in.

So, your advice might have included, set a timer on your notifications and you can choose whether this is visible to other people so they know you won't respond.

You might have said that you can mute conversations when you're busy doing other things, like spending time with family or when you're at school.

To explain why you don't respond, tell your friend it's important to get a good night's sleep in order to stay healthy, and therefore you won't reply late night, or finally, leave the group chats, if it feels too overwhelming.

So, lots of different pieces of advice there on how Sam can manage that relationship.

So, let's move on to our second outline for today.

How can I stay safe in my online communications? Andeep and Izzy are discussing the qualities they think there should be in a healthy relationship.

Andeep suggested that there should be trust, honesty, respect.

And Izzy says, "There should be kindness and support, communication, and fairness." These are all qualities of a healthy relationship, whether you are communicating in person or online.

And if an offline or an online relationship ever feel too overwhelming, then it's best to take a break.

As we get older and meet new people, how we use the internet in our relationships can change.

Communicating with someone you don't know very well or at all in real life can bring lots of risks, because you can be more easily manipulated.

There are lots of different ways that people can manipulate us online, and these tactics can include, catfishing, love bombing, and hacking.

Catfishing is creating a fictional online persona to lure someone into a relationship, often including fake photographs and images.

So, we must remember that a photograph is not always a sign of an account being real.

Love bombing is the action of overloading someone with attention or affection, especially in order to influence or manipulate them.

And hacking is using internet software to defraud, scam, or take advantage of people.

Other ways that we can be manipulated can include, gaslighting, cyber stalking, online harassment, extortion, and sextortion.

Gaslighting is when people manipulate someone using methods that make the victim question their own understanding of events.

Cyber stalking is the repeated use of online communications to harass or frighten someone.

For example, by sending threatening emails or messages.

Online harassment is using the internet to repeatedly cause harm to another person, including making threats, embarrassing or humiliating them.

Extortion is when someone threatens to share private information, images, or videos of a person unless something is given in return.

And sextortion is when an online predator manipulates someone into giving them nude images or videos.

They will then demand money, more images, or may make other threats.

So, Alex says, "There are so many ways people can trick you online.

Why do people do this?" And Jacob says, "All of them are designed to manipulate you in some way.

This could be for money, power, or finding it entertaining to make someone else feel bad." So, all of these are examples of manipulation.

These are designed to make you feel unsafe.

They can make you feel threatened or upset.

If you experience any of these, you must talk to a trusted adult.

Some of these actions can be stopped by reporting them online, but they are also crimes and can be reported to the police.

Jacob reminds us never give out personal information or send personal images to anyone online.

Even if the link comes from a friend, their account could have been hacked without them realising it.

And our police person says, "If you click on a link or accept a message from someone and it leads to you being hacked, you are still a victim of a crime, and this should be reported to the police." So, let's have a check for understanding so far.

To catfish someone is to, A, manipulate them by using online communications to harass someone, B, manipulate by creating a fictional online persona, or C, manipulate by overloading someone with attention.

Pause your screen here, while you think about your answer.

Well done, if you decided that the answer was, B, manipulate by creating a fictional online persona.

Then you've got the correct definition for catfishing.

Let's also check what to love bomb means.

So, to love bomb someone is to, A, manipulate by pretending to be someone you are not, B, manipulate by threatening to share private information, or C, manipulate by overloading someone with attention.

Pause your screen here, while you think about your answer.

Well done, if you put that you thought the answer was, C, manipulate by overloading someone with attention, then you're correct.

So, how can we deal with online manipulation? We've got an example here of an email that might be sent or a message you might receive.

It says, "I know your email address and passwords and have access to your phone images.

Click here to see what I can access." So, in this case, you would avoid clicking links that look unusual or are misspelt even from your friends.

You would never share personal details or images.

You would block the email address or the social media account.

And you would report the email address or the social media account.

Check for understanding now then.

If you click on a link that causes you to be hacked or to become a fraud victim, you can't report it to the police, because it is your fault.

Is that statement true or false? Pause your screen here, while you think about your response.

If you put that you thought the answer was false, then you'd be correct.

And that's because even if you click on a link or accept a message from someone, you've been tricked or manipulated online, and it is a crime and you can report this.

So, let's look at task B.

Look at this conversation between Andeep and Alex.

Can you have a go at rewriting a conversation to remove any misconceptions? Andeep says, "If a social media account uses a photo of the person, then it means it can be trusted, because you can see who they are offline." And Alex says, "If a link comes from a friend it's reliable.

It can be hard to hack someone else's email address." So, both of these statements have misconceptions.

Can you rewrite them so that you can remove those? Pause your screen here, while you think about your response.

Well done.

Your rewritten conversation may have looked like this.

Andeep says, "Catfishing is an example of when someone uses other people's photos and images to create a fake profile to manipulate someone.

Therefore, you shouldn't always trust an account, even if it has a photo." And Alex says, "People's email addresses and social media accounts can be hacked and used to send scam emails even without them realising.

Always check with the friend in real life before opening any links." So, some good advice there and some misconceptions removed.

So, let's think about our lesson today on online relationships.

In summary, throughout our lives we will have many different types of relationships, and we will often use technology to communicate with each other.

Technology can bring lots of benefits to a relationship.

However, it can also be used as a way of manipulating someone for a variety of reasons, like money or power.

We must remember that not everything online can be trusted.

It's easy to become a victim of hacking or manipulation online.

And the behaviour of people online should be the same as in person.

If you ever feel a relationship is overwhelming, then you should speak to a trusted adult to discuss ways to manage this.

Well done for your responses today.

There are lots of places that you can get support.

Childline has a website and phone line, which can offer confidential advice and support.

CEOP can help protect children from online abuse and exploitation.

And Internet Matters can give you advice on how to stay safe and happy online.