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Rocky Hill Country Day School Library: 2025 H4GG Middle School

H4GG 2025 - Middle School

 

Driving Question: How can we promote peace and justice in online spaces?

Topics

Social Media Activism Statistics:

  • 46% of social media users have been politically active on social media
  • 34% of social media users have joined a group that shares an interest in an issue or cause
  • 26% of social media users have encouraged others to take action on issues they care about
  • 82% of people think that social media distracts people from issues that really matter
  • 76% of people think that social media activism makes people think they are making a difference when they are not

Online spaces are increasingly becoming platforms for social activism:

  • social media is a place where like-minded people are connecting and encouraging civic engagement
  • young people have started campaigns such as Black Lives Matter and the Sunrise Movement
  • being online allows young people to educate themselves about issues that are important to them
  • social media offers a platform to voices that might otherwise not be heard
  • social media allows for allyships to be formed across geographic areas
  • social media allows almost immediate sharing of information related to peace and justice
  • social media allows young people to connect with others who share their identities and lived experiences

Online activism has pros and cons:

  • Pros: able to reach a lot of people, able to quickly share your message, allows for multimedia messages (text, video, images, music)
  • Cons: people need to have access to internet to be involved, some young people don't have social media, slacktivism (posting about a social issue makes you feel like you're doing more than you actually are), echo chambers

 

 

The Facts:

The majority of teens play video games:

  • 85% of teens play video games, 41% play daily
  • 80% of all teens think harassment over video games is a problem
  • 43% of teens who play video games report being harassed or bullied while playing an online video game

Some research suggests a link between violence in video games and aggressive behavior:

  • habitual exposure to violent media was associated with higher levels of recent violent behavior
  • playing violent video games predicted heightened physically aggressive behavior and violent behavior in the real world in a long-term context
  • children who played more violent video games early in a school year changed to see the world in a more aggressive way and also changed to become more verbally and physically aggressive later in the school year
  • violent behavior is determined by many factors which may combine in different ways for different youth

Some research suggests that violent video games can:

  • Desensitize players to real-world violence
  • Lead to young people to imitate the violence they encounter in video games
  • Decrease empathy and kindness

 

The Facts:

Violence is prevalent in films:

  • 91% of movies on television contain violence
  • “parental discretion advised” and the R rating, have been shown to attract children, especially boys
  • the amount of gun violence in top-grossing PG-13 films has more than tripled since the introduction of the rating in 1985
  • In 2012, PG-13 films actually contained more gun violence than R-rated films
  • violence is even present in movies that are not considered to be violent, such as animated films

Some research shows that viewing violent content can:

  • Raise levels of fear, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues
  • Desensitize viewers to the pain and suffering of others
  • Increase the chances of viewers acting aggressively

 

The Facts:

The Facts:

Home internet access varies significantly depending on geography and socioeconomic status:

  • World-wide, two-thirds of children and young people aged 25 years or less — do not have internet access at home
  • only 5 per cent of children and young people in West and Central Africa have internet access
  • 6 per cent of children and young people in low-income countries having internet access compared to 87 per cent in high-income countries
  • expanding internet access is vital for ensuring that all children and young people are learning and acquiring the knowledge and skills they need to support a sustainable future

Lack of internet access has multiple effects on young people:

  • prevents them from accessing and developing skills required in the modern economy
  • isolates them from the world
  • causes them to lose out on education
  • prevents them from learning foundational, transferable, digital, job-specific and entrepreneurial skills necessary to compete in the 21st century economy

Access to different types of devices varies:

  • 96% of teens have access to a smartphone
  • Teens in lower-income households less likely to have access to a desktop, laptop, or tablet that they can use for school work (28% of students whose families make less than $30,000 a year have access to a desktop, laptop, or tablet)