The Online Ripple Effect

• Space to move around in
• Large bowl filled with water
• Small stones or pebbles
• Ripple effect worksheets
• Pens or pencils
• Scenario Cards

Discussing what online harm might look like. Ask the learners for examples, such as mean comments or creating hurtful memes.

Gather the learners around a large bowl of water. Ask one learner to drop a stone into the water and watch the ripples spread. Explain that this is similar to how a mean comment or a hurtful post on social media can spread, affecting many people beyond the person it was directed at.

Divide the learners into small groups. Give each group a scenario that describes an instance of online violence.

Ask each group to discuss:

• What immediate effect does this action have on the victim?
• What are the possible ripple effects on the victim’s friends, family and school?
• How could the situation have been handled differently to avoid harm.

After discussing the scenarios, each group will fill out a ripple worksheet. In the centre of the worksheet, they write the initial online action (e.g., mean comment). In the surrounding circles, they write the person who is harmed, the person who is responsible for the harm, family and friends.

Once completed, each group presents their ripple worksheet to the rest of the class, explaining the different layers of impact they identified.

Bringing the class back together for a discussion.

• How can we prevent online violence and its ripple effects?
• What should you do if you see someone being hurt online?
• How can we use social media to spread kindness instead of hurt?