Summary
It’s not unusual to have upsetting interactions and experiences online. They can be really unpleasant, but what really matters is how you deal with it. This article will help you to build digital resilience so that those bad experiences don’t define your online experience, or ruin your day.
Resilience is the key to adapting to events in your life which are unexpected or unwanted.
When you are resilient, you will see a problem and try to find ways to deal with it successfully. A big factor in developing your resilience is knowing when to ask for help and who to turn to if there is something bothering you. Parents and carers are usually the first people to help you develop ways to respond positively to anything stressful or negative that happens to you.
It’s very important to know that there is always someone there to help you through any difficulties in your life – whether it’s a family member, friend, trusted adult or a service like Childline.ie. And as you explore the online world, you’ll need to apply these skills to strengthen your digital resilience.
What is Digital Resilience?
Digital Resilience is the ability to learn where to turn to for help and recover after an upsetting interaction or experience online.
Have you ever had a fight with your friend or with a classmate in the school yard? Or experienced bullying, be it someone pushing you around or saying nasty things about you? Things can get heated but hopefully there’s an adult or teacher present that you can talk to or a way to resolve the issue with the other person face to face.
When you’re online, this is not as straight forward. Online bullying, or cyberbullying as it’s often referred to, is carried out using the internet, smartphone or other technological devices.
What’s important to remember is that, even though it’s happening online, you still need to tell someone about it. Bullying of any kind needs to be dealt with as soon as possible.
If you’re worried about cyber bullying and want to improve your digital resilience, here are a few things you can do:
- Set boundaries for time you spend online. E.g., Don’t bring your phone to bed with you.
- Think about how what you want your online reputation to look like. If in doubt, be kind in your posts and comments.
- Keep as many offline hobbies as possible like art, dancing, sports and music.
- Talk to a parent/carer/trusted adult if something goes wrong.
Key takeaways
- Digital Resilience is the ability to learn where to turn to for help and recover after an upsetting interaction or experience online.
- There is always someone there to help you through difficulties – whether it’s a family member, friend, trusted adult or a service like Childline.ie.
- Setting boundaries for yourself is a great place to start when it comes to digital resilience.
- If in doubt, be kind online.
- Keep lots of offline hobbies if you can, and you’ll find online matters less.
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