Staying Safe Online - 16+ (2026 edition)

In this lesson, students will consider their digital wellbeing by investigating the pleasures and problems of spending time online. In a starter activity, young people will consider how the internet has changed our daily lives, including the language we use.

Using a highlight from The Social Network, learners will spend time thinking about how social media has developed and changed since the early days of Facebook. They will think about why users enjoy social media and the ways in which it is valuable to individuals. They will also think about some of the problems connected to social media and rank what they believe are the top three problems.

The lesson continues with a youth-made film called Jessica’s Wish, which presents the message that it is important to have many different voices online. At the end of this section, there will be an opportunity to hold a classroom debate focussed on the following statement: ‘The positive experiences of social media and the opportunity to make connections with people outweigh the negative’.

The next section of the lesson will look at other developments in technology, specifically the mobile phone and the idea of being constantly connected. Learners will be encouraged to examine their relationships with their own phones by reflecting on their screen time and the apps they use. They will be asked to think about why our phones are so difficult to put down. The youth-made film How to Get Over FOMO follows and examines how youth can ask for help when struggling with the negative impact of social media and of being constantly connected.

The lesson will culminate with learners planning their own short film ideas about someone struggling with the online world who goes on to ask for help. They will present their short film ideas at the end of the lesson.