Youth Exposure to Prejudice Online

Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. This week I wanted to focus on a statistic as we prep for conversations tomorrow surrounding Safer Internet Day.

This year’s Safer Internet Day theme focuses on how to do your part to contribute to a “better internet” for everyone. One component of a positive internet experience is digital citizenship and one’s ability to conduct their behaviour and interactions in a manner that is respectful and conducive to a positive experience for all involved. This includes both what you say and do in online spaces and how you react to negative or harmful online content.

Wherever possible I like to source out current Canadian statistics to best reflect the climate our students in MVSD may be experiencing and my go-to is often MediaSmarts. Their recent study, “Young Canadians Pushing Back Against Hate Online” was where this weeks’ included quote was pulled from:

“MediaSmarts conducted a survey of 1,000 youth ages 12 to 16 years old to better understand their attitudes and experiences with casual prejudice online; specifically, the motivations and external factors that influence their decisions whether or not to intervene. Study results uncover that youth experiences with online casual prejudice are common yet many youth do not respond because they don’t know what to do to make a difference. This research is a call for more effective interventions that will prepare, engage, and empower youth to push back against hate online.“

https://mediasmarts.ca/research-policy

Stay tuned for more information on Safer Internet Day tomorrow!