A Lesson in
Digital Citizenship
By Mrs. Martell and Ms. Wells
Alex, Jamie, and the Cyberbully
Alex and Jamie were best friends. They fit together like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. They helped to tie each others’ shoes and helped each other with hard math problems. They especially loved playing together at recess.
One day, Alex and Jamie discovered that they both liked playing the same online game. After school, they asked their parents if they could meet online at 4:00pm to play the game together. They were so excited when their parents said, “Yes”!
At 4:00, Alex and Jamie logged on to their game and recognized each others’ screen names. They were having fun playing until a strange message popped up on their screens from someone they didn’t know. It was mean!
Alex and Jamie wondered where the message came from. It didn’t look like anything they would write. They would never be that inappropriate. Who could be saying those awful things to them?
The friends were scared and felt really bad. They hadn’t done anything wrong. Why would someone say these mean things to them? They weren’t sure what to do, so they stopped playing and signed out of the game.
The next day at school, Alex and Jamie were talking about what happened when they played their online game. Jamie remembered something important that their classroom teacher told them. If they ever thought they were being bullied, they should tell a grown up. They wondered if you could be bullied online.
Their Technology Teacher, Mrs. Tellwell, taught Alex and Jamie how to be responsible digital citizens. She said not to share private and personal information when they were online at school or at home. They thought she’d be a good person to tell about the mean message they saw while playing their online game.
Mrs. Tellwell listened to Alex and Jamie’s story. She explained that when someone repeatedly sends mean, hurtful messages online, it’s a special type of bullying called, “cyberbullying”. The person doing it is called a “cyberbully”.
Alex and Jamie learned that they should never respond to a cyberbully. Mrs. Tellwell also said that you should STOP what you’re doing online, and TELL a trusted adult right away. The grown up may print the message, or report the cyberbully to a person in charge, or even block the cyberbully from your account. All of this will make it hard for someone to bother people again.
That afternoon, Alex and Jamie went home and told their families everything they learned at school and about what happened when they were playing their online game. Their families were proud of them for talking to a trusted adult at home and at school.
The next week, Alex and Jamie were online playing their favorite game together. Suddenly, the cyberbully struck again! This time, the friends knew what to do. They didn’t respond to the rude message and told their families right away.
Their family members printed out the mean message and notified the people in charge of the game. The cyberbully was removed from the online game and never hurt anyone’s feelings again. Alex and Jamie are responsible digital citizens and tell an adult whenever uncomfortable things happen online.
When Alex and Jamie returned to school, they shared their story with their teachers and friends. They made sure everyone knew it was important to STOP and TELL a trusted adult if they ever felt like they were being cyberbullied. Now that Alex and Jamie know what to do to protect themselves from cyberbullies, they feel strong and safe.
Remember to take Alex and Jamie’s advice. STOP and TELL a trusted adult if something happens online that makes you feel uncomfortable. Grown ups will know just what to do to help!