Hi, I'm Mrs. Allchin, and I'm going to be taking you through the Citizenship lesson today.

I'm going to give you all the information that you need to be able to take part in the lesson, and I'll also pause and tell you when you need to complete an activity or complete a check for understanding.

I hope you enjoy the lesson.

Today's lesson is called, "What is the social impact of digital media within a democracy?" And it comes from the unit of lessons entitled, "How is social media changing our view of democracy?" By the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain the positive and negative societal impact that digital media has within our democracy.

These are our keywords.

We've got digital media, which is any content shared or created using technology.

We've got communities, which is groups of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.

And we've got value, which is a principle or a belief that guides how people behave and treat others.

This is our lesson outline for the lesson "What is the social impact of digital media within a democracy?" So first we're going to look at, how can digital media unite communities? We're then going to move on to look at, how can digital media divide communities? So let's start by looking at how it can unite communities.

So Sam is starting us off by saying, "I thought democracy was just to do with voting?" And she's absolutely right, democracy does relate to voting and it's concerned with being able to vote for candidates to represent you at both a local and national level.

That's a key part of our democracy.

However, there are also core values that you would expect to find in a democratic society.

So why don't you have a think yourself, what sort of values would you expect to see within a democracy? Let's go through some of them together.

So some of the really key values that we should expect to find in a democratic society include the rule of law.

And this means that people, all people, all citizens, are equal before the law and there is fairness and accountability, so the law applies equally to everyone.

There should also be individual liberty, which is about freedom, it's about people being free to make personal choices and have freedom of speech, including being able to access a free press, so that means a media that isn't controlled by the government.

There should be mutual respect and tolerance, that there's a respect for diversity and differences in society and people should be able to live together peacefully.

There should be equality, which means that people have the same rights and opportunities regardless of their background.

And there should also be active civic engagement, which means that people can engage with democracy beyond voting.

So yes, people can vote, but people can also campaign, they can take action, they can lobby their governments, they can be a civic active participant within their community.

So let's have a check for understanding.

Which is not a democratic value? Is it A, rule of law? Is it B, mutual respect and tolerance? Is it C, polarisation? Or is it D, active civic engagement? It's C, polarisation is not a democratic value.

So these democratic values are also what we would expect to see in a united and cohesive community.

So cohesive means to come together, think about glue is cohesive.

Where citizens live together peacefully and respectfully, enjoying equal rights and opportunities.

So we would hope to see these values in that type of a community.

Sam is saying, "Well, that makes sense.

I can see how these values can support communities to be cohesive and united and support democracy too, by ensuring that people have the freedom and information to make informed choices.

But how does digital media actually unite communities?" Pause and think for yourself.

Can you think of any examples or any situations where digital media might actually unite communities and bring them together? So let's have a look at some examples.

Digital media can support communities at times of crisis, and we saw this during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

So when it was the pandemic and there were lockdowns, we saw this in action.

And this is when social media platforms were used to organise local support groups.

Communities organised and coordinated food shopping for local residents who were unable to leave the house, and social media was a really good vehicle to be able to organise that.

So Sofia is saying, "Ah, my next-door neighbour has a weakened immune system and families on our street took it in turns to deliver food to his doorstep.

My street also had a shared messaging group in which people would post opening times of testing centres and things like that." And this might be something that you can remember or people from your family or your teachers can remember as well.

Many teachers also copied and pasted a post to their social media profiles that highlighted the subject they were qualified in, encouraged people to reach out if they needed support with teaching their child at home.

And these examples highlight how digital media was used to coordinate positive civic engagement, show respect towards others, and ensure a quality of resources in times of crises.

So with this, with the teacher, teachers were aware that there was suddenly lots of parents at home perhaps really struggling to be able to home educate their children, so this is a really positive example of civic engagement which we'd hope to see in a democracy.

So let's have a check for understanding.

What did individuals do during the COVID-19 lockdowns that supported and united their community? So can you remember any of the examples that we've looked at? So you might have said that they organised local support groups, they helped vulnerable people with things like shopping, and that teachers also offered support with home learning.

There have also been social media trends that celebrate our shared identity.

So one of these is #BritishCore, which went viral in 2024.

This was a funny and humorous lighthearted trend that saw people post comments, photos, and videos that celebrate British pop culture.

For example, things like fashion, music, and slang.

So Sam's saying, "Well, this sounds fun, but I don't really see how it links to democratic values." So while it could be argued that trends such as #BritishCore unite communities by sharing and reminiscing on pop culture together, more importantly, trends like this inspire other content creators to consider how they can use social media and how they could get other hashtags trending and raising awareness of other things.

An example of this is the #MyRoots trend, which honours the contributions made by Black artists and asks them to share and celebrate their roots.

And trends such as this are a really fantastic way of supporting that mutual respect and tolerance which again is one of those democratic values, by highlighting what Britain gains from its diverse and multicultural communities.

So let's have a check for understanding.

What was the aim of #MyRoots? Was it A, to honour the contributions made by scientists during COVID-19? Was it B, to honour the contributions made by Black artists in the UK? Or was it C, to honour the contributions made by teachers during COVID-19? Pause and have a go.

And it was B, to honour the contributions made by Black artists in the UK, which is a really fantastic way of supporting those democratic values.

Digital media can also unite communities with a common aim.

So the tragic murder of Sarah Everard in 2021 led to a national outrage regarding the safety of women, and as a result, #ReclaimTheseStreets started to trend across multiple social media platforms. And that actually led to the coordination of many vigils where citizens came together united with the common goal of ending violence against women.

And not only did this demonstrate democratic values such as individual liberty, that civic engagement, and also that mutual respect, the movement also called for reforms in laws to better protect women from violence.

So this is a direct link back to democracy and back to government and those decision makers that can make law and policy.

Another example is the #RefugeesWelcome campaign that began in 2015 and remains a popular hashtag.

Posts linked to this hashtag focus on refugees' rights to seek safety and live with dignity, which are key democratic values.

The posts emphasise and remind the public about the UK's commitment to support refugees under international law, such as the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention.

Not only does this unite citizens with a common aim, it also aims to unite communities by encouraging mutual respect and tolerance between the different groups in society.

So again, really drawing out and promoting those key democratic values.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Can you fill in the missing words? So the #RefugeesWelcome campaign aims to something communities by encouraging mutual something and tolerance between the different groups in society.

Let's see if you got that right.

So the #RefugeesWelcome campaign aims to unite communities by encouraging mutual respect and tolerance between the different groups in society.

So for Task A, I'd like you to write one paragraph to persuade Sam that digital media can unite communities.

So let's have a look at what Sam's saying.

Sam's saying, "I'm still not entirely convinced that digital media unites communities." So you need to write a paragraph to persuade Sam that digital media can unite communities.

Your answer could include information like driving local support, charity appeals, and celebrating diversity.

So think about what we've looked at so far in the lesson.

So pause while you have a go at this task.

So your answer for this task could have included, "Digital media has the power to bring communities together by helping them connect, work as a team, and focus on shared goals.

It's often used in campaigns to improve society, for example, through vigils and events or local projects, like those coordinated during the COVID-19 lockdowns, and promoting fairness and democracy by allowing different views to be heard." So we've looked at how digital media can unite communities.

We're now going to look at the other side of the argument, so really developing that critical thinking.

We're going to think about, how can digital media divide communities? So Sam is saying, "There are so many great examples of how digital media unites communities.

How can it also divide them?" So pause and have a think to yourself, how might digital media also divide communities? Digital media can divide communities and diminish democratic values in the following ways.

By the spread of disinformation and hate speech, by encouraging political polarisation, and by creating digital echo chambers.

So let's look at those in a bit more detail.

The spread of disinformation and hate speech could be seen in the anti-immigration riots that took place in many parts of the UK in 2024.

Far-right groups exploited a local tragedy that happened in Southport in 2024 for their political gain.

The incident was used to spread disinformation and hate speech via social media that soon went viral.

Posts blamed minority communities for numerous crimes and encouraged people to form protests against immigration.

These events quickly escalated to riots, caused damage to property, and put civilians in danger.

And this goes against, absolutely, our democratic values.

The posts aimed to divide the UK's multicultural communities.

Within these riots, Muslim communities and asylum seekers were particularly targeted.

And in fact, we saw on the news a mosque in Southport was attacked and a hotel in Rotherham that was actually housing refugees was set on fire, so really significant acts of violence that really go against our democratic values.

However, you have to look at the other side with this.

And although the riots did cause divisions and hostility, there was also community unity, with many communities using social media to actually organise community cleanups.

An example of this being the community effort in Southport where the mosque was attacked, and this actually included a bricklayer who organised a whole team to rebuild the damaged mosque's wall.

So let's have a check for understanding.

Can you fill in the missing word? The 2024 anti-immigration riots aimed to divide the UK's something communities by creating a them against us narrative.

Pause while you try and work out the missing word.

And the missing word was multicultural.

So Sofia's asking, "What are digital echo chambers? They don't sound great at all." So pause and just think for yourself, have you heard this term before? Can you remember what it means? So digital echo chambers happen when an individual's social media algorithms increase the amount of like-minded posts they receive and limit the amount of differing opinions.

So you call it an echo because it basically means that what they think and what they believe is being echoed back to them.

Their algorithms are meaning that all of their content they're receiving online kind of supports and backs up what they already think, so they're unable to really be able to access different points of view.

And this means an individual's views are being echoed back to them and they're less likely to see those opposing views, and this can negatively impact democratic values such as tolerance and even freedom of thought, as what users receive has been targeted based on their online behaviour.

During the Syrian refugee crisis, social media platforms have been used to share anti-immigration posts which are often spread within echo chambers.

An example of this was the #DefendEurope campaign, which demonised refugees and other immigrants in Britain.

Echo chambers like this can divide communities.

Echo chambers can be particularly problematic if digital media is the only type of information that's accessed by an individual.

This means they are not being exposed to opposing points of view, which can limit a person's ability to be able to think critically.

Let's have a check for understanding, so true or false? There are no potential issues with an individual only accessing information via digital media.

Is that true, is that false, and can you tell me why? That's false, and the reason why is because only accessing information via digital media can create echo chambers, because algorithms are going to, basically, bring your own opinions back to you, and this can limit people's ability to be able to think critically.

Misogynistic echo chambers also exist.

So misogyny is that kind of hatred towards women or that feeling that women aren't as good, basically, as men in society.

So misogynistic echo chambers also exist where mostly men share posts that describe their frustrations and anger towards women, which can lead to hostility and even violence.

These echo chambers allow individuals to openly voice their resentment towards women and social media algorithms will also highlight similar content for them to explore, which will really reinforce and strengthen their misogynistic views.

This goes against the democratic values of respect and equality and can cause divisions between key groups in a society.

Sofia's asking, "What does polarisation mean? I can't quite remember." So pause and have a think for yourself.

Can you remember what that means? And even more, can you think why it could divide communities? So polarisation is when people's political views become more extreme and divided, with less agreement or middle ground, or that ability to be able to talk to each other and have that healthy debate and discussion.

Although being able to have different opinions is a democratic value, polarisation can also lead to conflict, which can divide communities.

Polarisation has occurred between individuals in relation to the COVID-19 vaccine.

So on the one hand, some people viewed getting vaccinated as a moral civic duty, as it not only protects yourself from the virus but also everyone else, including those that are immune-compromised or are in high-risk categories, who if they were to get COVID could potentially be much more negatively affected.

However, on the other hand, some people viewed the vaccination programme as a way for citizens to be controlled, as the vaccination was linked to whether or not you could travel or go to certain places.

And some people were also concerned about the safety of the vaccine.

And this polarisation of views was really fueled by digital media, with lots of people posting those sort of conflicting arguments.

Online videos and posts were filled with misinformation and disinformation, such as the vaccine really being a microchip, or that the vaccine would permanently alter a person's DNA.

In 2021, there was a large anti-vaccine protest in London.

And although many protesters were doing so peacefully and actually, you know, using their civic duty and their democratic values to be able to protest, there were also instances of violence within that event, and a group also tried to storm the BBC offices due to their belief and their perceptions of biassed reporting about the vaccine and about COVID.

The polarisation of views towards the vaccine caused divisions within communities.

People shared stories on social media of how they'd become estranged from their families, so literally broken up with and fallen out with families due to opposing views about vaccinations.

Protests outside vaccination centres were organised at a local level, and this meant that it caused hostility between the protesters and other citizens because some people in the local community might be turning up to get vaccinated when there were other people on the local community that were actually there to protest against vaccinations.

And there were reported tensions between vaccinated and unvaccinated colleagues, so people that work together within the workplace, especially within health and care settings.

So let's have a check for understanding.

Fill in the missing words to complete this definition of polarisation.

Polarisation is when people's political views become more extreme and something, with less something or middle ground.

And the missing words were divided and agreement.

So polarisation is when people's political views become more extreme and divided, with less agreement or middle ground.

So for Task B, I would like you to write an opposing argument to Sofia's statement, so let's look at her statement together.

Sofia is saying, "Digital media unites people by helping them connect, work together, and support shared goals.

It's been used in things like charity campaigns, local movements, and in spreading democratic values.

It helps different groups join forces, share their stories, and feel part of the bigger community, no matter where they are." So Sofia's given a really good statement there to kind of argue and say why digital media can unite communities.

So what you're going to do is create an opposing statement that's going to say the opposite, it's going to give examples of how digital media can actually divide communities.

So think about what we've looked at this lesson.

Your answer could include information about the spread of disinformation, about polarisation, and about echo chambers.

So pause while you have a go at this task.

So your opposing argument to Sofia's statement could have included, "Digital media can also divide communities.

It can create echo chambers, spread disinformation, and encourage hate speech, which can break communities apart and create conflict.

For example, arguments over vaccines, harmful online groups targeting marginalised groups, extreme political views and polarisation can divide communities and ruin community cohesion." So, in summary of the lesson, "What is the social impact of digital media within a democracy?" A democracy includes democratic values as well as the ability to vote in elections.

These values include rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance, equality, and active civic engagement.

Digital media can unite communities by helping with the coordination of local support during times of crisis, campaigning about societal issues, and sharing and celebrating shared culture.

Digital media can also divide communities by spreading disinformation and hate speech, which can foster hostility, create echo chambers, and increase polarisation, ultimately leading to greater divisions and heightened community tensions.

That brings us to the end of this lesson.

Well done for working hard, and I hope you come back for some more Citizenship lessons in the future.