It is unfortunately a common occurrence for someone to post, tweet or share something negative or harmful that they later wish they could take back, and it happens to adults and children alike. When it comes to sharing, many people have taken a “devil may care” attitude, posting whatever they want and just hoping for the best. Sometimes, a controversial post will live without backlash but many times it can blow up and wreak havoc on the original poster. Excuses may arise such as “I thought it was funny,” “Can’t anyone take a joke anymore?” or “Who would ever see what I post?” The reality is, we are connected digitally to one another more than ever and we need to understand, and teach our kids, that if we post something negative there will likely be consequences.
Mike Ribble, an educator and author of several books on digital citizenship has come up with an acronym to think about every time we share something online– REP – which stands for respect, educate or protect. Here’s what he means by each of these factors:
There is a thin line between being funny and hurting others. In the digital world it is hard to judge how someone might feel or react to what is said or posted, so remember that sometimes “delete” is a better choice than “send.”