Digital citizenship: Young peoples' rights on social media
Challenge your classes to get to grips with their rights on social media and become more empowered digital citizens
Social media is undeniably a significant part of young peoples’ lives, whether they use it as a source of information or as a place to connect with others around the globe. But, when they fill in their details and join a new platform, do they actually know what they are signing up to? As adults are notoriously bad at reading the terms and conditions, can we really expect young people to be trawling though jargon-filled fine print?
That’s where we step in. Borne of out this idea, the Children’s Commissioner and specialist lawyers at Schillings have worked together to create student-friendly versions of the terms and conditions of five major social media sites, available exclusively on Tes.
In the words of Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner for England, "many teachers have told me that they would like more support to navigate these terms and conditions with their pupils and to teach them more about their rights online. This partnership will ensure that primary and secondary school pupils have the resilience, information and power to be more informed digital citizens who can make the most of the fantastic opportunities that social media and the internet have to offer.”
What can you find on Tes?
To help the budding digital citizens in your classroom feel confident and empowered online, we've created teaching packs for three different age groups, 7-11, 11-14 and 14-16, designed to tackle the unruly world of social media T&Cs. Along with the easy-to-read terms and conditions for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat and YouTube, students can discover, dissect and debate the contracts that users are making when they sign up to social media sites. So, what are you waiting for? Let the discussions begin...
Digital citizenship: Young peoples’ rights on social media - Teaching pack for 7-11 year olds
• a short, six-lesson unit of work written by teacher and citizenship specialist Emily Cotterill (ECResources), and
• jargon-free terms and conditions for five of the major social media sites, produced by the Children’s Commissioner for England and privacy specialists, Schillings
The Children’s Commissioner is committed to raising young peoples’ awareness of their online rights and is working in partnership with Tes to enable children to become better informed digital citizens.
These lessons have been designed to enhance citizenship and computing curriculums around the world. By the end of the unit, we hope that students will be able to:
• Understand that there are different kinds of responsibilities and rights, and that they can sometimes conflict with one another
• Understand why and how rules and laws are made and enforced, and why different rules are needed in different situations
• Think critically, behave safely and participate responsibly in the digital world
• Recognise unacceptable online behaviour and ways to report concerns about content
Note: These lessons have been devised according to simplified versions of social media T&Cs relevant to the UK. While there may be some variation in other countries, the general principles are transferable.
Digital citizenship: Young peoples’ rights on social media - Teaching pack for 11-14 year olds
• a short, six-lesson unit of work written by teacher and citizenship specialist Emily Cotterill (ECResources), and
• jargon-free terms and conditions for five of the major social media sites, produced by the Children’s Commissioner for England and privacy specialists, Schillings
The Children’s Commissioner is committed to raising young peoples’ awareness of their online rights and is working in partnership with Tes to enable children to become better informed digital citizens.
These lessons have been designed to enhance citizenship and computing curriculums around the world. By the end of the unit, we hope that students will be able to:
• Understand that there are different kinds of responsibilities and rights, and that they can sometimes conflict with one another
• Understand why and how rules and laws are made and enforced, and why different rules are needed in different situations
• Think critically, behave safely and participate responsibly in the digital world
• Recognise unacceptable online behaviour and ways to report concerns about content
Note: These lessons have been devised according to simplified versions of social media T&Cs relevant to the UK. While there may be some variation in other countries, the general principles are transferable.
Digital citizenship: Young peoples’ rights on social media - Teaching pack for 14-16 year olds
• a short, six-lesson unit of work written by teacher and citizenship specialist Emily Cotterill (ECResources), and
• jargon-free terms and conditions for five of the major social media sites, produced by the Children’s Commissioner for England and privacy specialists, Schillings
The Children’s Commissioner is committed to raising young peoples’ awareness of their online rights and is working in partnership with Tes to enable children to become better informed digital citizens.
These lessons have been designed to enhance citizenship and computing curriculums around the world. By the end of the unit, we hope that students will be able to:
• Understand that there are different kinds of responsibilities and rights, and that they can sometimes conflict with one another
• Understand why and how rules and laws are made and enforced, and why different rules are needed in different situations
• Think critically, behave safely and participate responsibly in the digital world
• Recognise unacceptable online behaviour and ways to report concerns about content
Note: These lessons have been devised according to simplified versions of social media T&Cs relevant to the UK. While there may be some variation in other countries, the general principles are transferable.
