The 3rd National Internet Safety Review 2019-2020
Think Before You Post
Remember, What You Do Reflects On You
Keep your hands off your smart phone or computer until you have become calm
In the past 30 days, have you publicly posted or privately sent something using social media that, after you did this, you thought that this was probably not a good idea?
Once you are calm, follow these
steps to think things through
What has happened
Take the time to think about what has happened to make sure you have an accurate understanding,
What is my goal?
Know what you want to achieve. If you made a mistake and were hurtful or acted inappropriately, be sure to accept responsibility and take steps to make things right.
What strategies
could I use?
Identify several different strategies that you could use. Identify strategies that use your strengths
Is each strategy in accord with my values?
Evaluate the strategies based on your own personal values.
For each, what might happen?
Think about what might happen if you followed each strategy.
What is my best choice?
Decide which strategy would be your best first choice.
How should I proceed?
Determine what steps are necessary to implement this strategy.
Did this work?
Evaluate the effectiveness. Realize that the first thing you try might not work.
If not, what else
could I do?
Repeat this process if the first strategy you tried did not work.
Keep Your Life
In Balance
The addictive use of digital technologies is a concern for some teens. Note that in the 2014-15 Bahrain youth survey young people who spent more time using digital media also reported more frequently experiencing or engaging in negative and risky behaviors.
You will experience greater happiness if you keep your use of digital technologies in balance with other important life activities. These activities include spending time with friends, doing homework, helping out at home, and spending time in nature.
It is possible that young people are not very good judges of their own behavior. However, it also may be that some have heard news that many young people spend too much time using digital media and so they think this is a concern, even though it is not a concern for them.
Bahrain’s young people were asked what their personal standards were for striving to keep their use of digital media in balance with their other life activities. Some examples of the excellent strategies they provided were: “I use digital media only when I finish my homework”
What are your personal standards for how you will keep your life in balance and not spend too much time using digital media?”
Connect Safely
People who you communicate with online who you do not know well or at all are almost always totally safe, wonderful people who can enrich your life
One of the wonders of the Internet is the ability to connect with other people from throughout the world with whom you share interests. However, it is also possible that you could begin to communicate with someone who presents concerns. Someone may try to establish a relationship with you who could jeopardize your safety.
Realize that it is not “online strangers” who could present concerns. A person who presents concerns could be an Acquaintance, a Friend of a Friend, and sometimes someone who you know and originally might think of as a friend.
The first safety guideline is to limit your communications in personal communication environments, like a private Instagram page, to only people who you know in person and trust. When you are older, you may increase this to Friends of Friends.
In the Past year, did you experience a time when you were interacting with someone online and you became concerned about your safety in relationship with this person?
Protect Your Face
and Friends
As the 2014-15 TRA study indicated, your use of the Internet and social media offers significant benefits for your social, educational and creative engagement. Social media allows you to creatively demonstrate your personal identity and maintain connections with friends. Most of you rely on digital devices to watch videos, download music, play games and communicate with friends. Many of you are using the internet daily to help with school work.
It is important that you know that the social media sites have protective features. These features give you control over who can access your information or send messages to you. As you know, what you post on your page and on the pages of others is used by others to form an impression of you. This impression could impact your reputation, personal relationships, and opportunities. The material you post or actions they engage in may place your friends or others at risk of harm or could invade their privacy
You know that the process of “friending” will lead to increasing circles of friends and that establishing a friendship link to an unknown or unsafe person could potentially result in harm to you or to a friend.
The social media sites or apps you use have Terms of Use to which you agree when you establish a page on the site. These Terms of Use prohibit actions that could cause harm to others or the site. These sites also allow you to file an abuse report to alert the company of concerns.
Bahrain young people were asked what strategies they have used to protect their face and friends. These are the kinds of actions you can proudly say many of you have taken. If you have not yet started to use social media, when you do, there will be peers who will be able to explain these actions to protect your face and friends.
Think Things Through
Envision a situation where you have been asked to provide guidance to younger people about how to protect their face and friends when using social media. What guidance would you provide?
What guidance would
you provide?”
Embrace Civility
Foster Positive Relations in Digital Communities
Unfortunately, sometimes when people communicate online they become hurtful. This is usually called “cyberbullying”.
Why do you think people are hurtful online?
There are a number of different reasons.
These are the most common:
They want attention
They think that by posting hurtful things about another person this will attract a lot of attention to them.
They want to achieve dominance
and social status
By putting someone down, they think they can demonstrate that they are strong and powerful and that others should look up to them and follow their leadership.
Someone has been hurtful to them and they are fighting back
This kind of retaliation can lead to massive consequences where several or even many people are posting hurtful things about others.
A particular vicious form of cyberbullying is called “mobbing.” This happens when one or a couple of people lead a hurtful campaign to attack and encourage others to attack one person. Mobbing can be very distressing for the young person who is under attack.
While some young people may think that being hurtful to others is a great way to get attention, achieve dominance or social status, or fight back,
the truth is that the majority of students do not like to see this happening. Young people truly admire those who are kind and respectful and who step in to help others.
They do not admire those who are hurtful or those who support those being hurtful. How do we know this? This is the opinion of Bahrain’s young people.
1. Stop, Admit it, and Fix it
It is exceptionally clear from the responses of Bahrain young people, the kinds of actions they absolutely do not admire are people who think it is cool to put others down, create “drama” to get attention, express approval when seeing someone being treated badly, and encouraging people to exclude those they consider “ different.” However, it appears that some Bahrain young people are hurtful to others. In fact, 28% of Bahrain young people admitted to having been hurtful to another person at least once or twice a month.
Consider the reasons why you would avoid engaging in hurtful behaviors. Bahrain young people were asked this question. Young people have different reasons why they would not be hurtful. All of these reasons are good reasons. Some of these reasons may be more important to you than others.
In the past 30 says, how frequently have been hurtful to another person using social media?
2. Be Positively Powerful
There are some smart strategies you can use that can reduce the potential that someone will be hurtful to you.
Don't post or send any material that others could use against you.
If what you are about to post or send is an image or information that could be used against you in cny way, stop. Think things through before posting.
Don't join in and be hurtful when someone else has started to do so.
Don't like hurtful material that has been posted. Don't add a supportive comment.
Spread positive energy.
Be known as the one who consistently posts positive images and statements.
Disagree respectfully.
It is perfectly appropriate for you to post and discuss controversial issues. Do so in a manner that is respectful to those who hold contrary positions.
Consistently reach out to be kind.
This is the most important strategy and really works. Every day take the time to reach out using digital media to be kind to others. Note what others have posted and comment positively on this. Do not just "like" what these people have posted, write a positive and supportive comment. Also, send some private messages that are positive and kind. Try to do this at least 5 times a day, consistently. If someone occasionally has treated you badly online or in person, try to find a way to comment positively on something they have posted. Or if this might not work, post positive comments on this person's friends pages. The more you can establish yourself as someone who is consistently kind and positive, the less likely you will come under attack and the more likely others will defend you if you are treated badly.
3. Be a Helpful Ally
Young people who witness cyberbullying are in the best position to get this to stop. While those who are hurtful think this will establish them as “leaders.” True leaders are the people who are kind and compassionate and step in to help when they witness hurtful situations online or in person.
What do young people in Bahrain think about those who step in to help? Young people were asked what words they would use to describe these young people. These were the most frequent words used:
These are some steps you can
take to be a helpful ally in
cyberbullying situations.
Make sure you are calm and have thought things through. Always keep your hands off the keyboard if you are upset.
Reach out privately to the person who has been targeted. Tell this person that you have seen what is happening and do not like this. Tell this person you are a supporter and will do what you can to help and to get this to stop. Remind this person of the need to keep their hands off the keyboard until they have calmed down and thought things through. Offer to discuss the possible options for response.
File an abuse report on the site or app. Reach out to mutual friends, tell them what is happening, and ask them to file abuse reports. The more abuse reports that are filed, the faster the hurtful material come to the attention of the company and will be taken down.
If you feel more personally powerful, you can also step in publicly. Privately tell your friends that you are going to calmly post a message of support for the targeted person, a statement that the hurtful post is not acceptable, and a request that the person who was hurtful take the post down. Ask your friends to quickly “like” or positively comment on your post.
If these actions have not stopped the harm, help the person who is being targeted to contact a trusted adult who can provide invisible guidance, and step in to help more visibly if necessary.
Continue to provide support to the person who was targeted.
Acknowledgment
The telecommunications regulatory authority would like to express special thanks to Mrs. Nancy Willard, author of the Third National Internet Safety Review. The Authority would also like to thank schools around the Kingdom of Bahrain for contributing to the study by providing their valuable input.
Data Collection
Data Collected from students in Middle School and High School across schools in the Kingdom of Bahrain
2011
Total Respondents
11 - 18
Years old
List Of Schools
AMA International School
Aali Intermediate Girls School
Al Raja School
Al Sehla Primary Intermediate Boys School
Al Tadhamun Secondary Girls School
Arad Intermediate Girls School
Busaiteen Intermediate Girls School
Ghazi Al-Gosaibi Secondary Girls School
Hamad Town Secondary Girls School
Hidd Intermediate Girls School
Ibn Khuldoon National School
Indian School
Isa Town Intermediate Girls School
Muharraq Secondary Girls School
Qurtoba Intermediate Girls School
Shaikha Hessa Girls’ School
Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa Primary & Intermediate Boys School
Umaima Bint Al Nomman Secondary Girls School
Zanubya Intermediate Girls School