Respect

'Everyone is allowed their opinion …' (Liam, 17)

• Do you listen to others’ views and provide thoughtful responses?
• How is their view different from yours?
• What makes you think you’re right?
• How can you find a middle ground you are both happy with?
• How do you show respect for people’s ideas and values?

You can treat others how you want to be treated.

Things like gossiping or putting someone down, even as a joke, can be hurtful. Saying sorry when you make a mistake or hurt someone shows that you respect their feelings. Being kind and sharing things that make others happy are examples of how you can be positive online.

You can listen to other people’s views and respect their choices.

It’s OK to be different! Be interested and open to a different perspective — even if you have a differing opinion. Get to know people before making a judgement about them.

You can question other peoples’ opinions respectfully.

Be confident to challenge ideas that are different to yours, or seem false, strange or illegal. You can still share different opinions and have interesting conversations without being aggressive. You can challenge things respectfully by challenging the ‘idea’ and not the person. Acknowledge that their opinion is valid, ask questions about the topic, use ‘I’ statements to describe how you feel or think, and find common ground.

You can make decisions for yourself and respect boundaries.

If you’re not comfortable doing something, you can communicate your own boundaries and not pressure other people to overstep theirs. Remember that you don’t have to deal with anything online that you don’t want to. You are in control of who you talk to, and what you do.

If someone pushes your boundaries, you can let them know how you feel and then tell them what you would like them to do, such as ‘I don’t feel comfortable talking about that. Let’s talk about something else’; ‘I don’t send nude photos of myself so please don’t keep asking’. If they continue to push your boundaries, they are not showing you respect and you may want to block or delete them.

You can stand up to online hate.

Sometimes it can feel uncomfortable to challenge people, but having the courage to express a different point of view when you feel someone is being treated badly is how we can encourage a more positive online world.

You can respect the privacy of others.

Think about who might see the content and what the impact might be before you share photos or make comments about people online. Will it upset them? Could it damage their reputation? How would you feel if someone shared something like this about you? What if your own judgement about sharing or posting is different from theirs? The only way you will know if it’s OK to share is to ask them first.

You can give people the benefit of the doubt.

It isn’t always easy to identify what someone is saying online when we can’t see their face or hear their tone of voice. If you’re not sure what someone means — ask! Remember jokes can be easily misinterpreted. Using emoticons or a smiley can help make sure other people understand that your own comments are meant to be friendly.

You can respect yourself.

Listen to your own feelings, be kind to yourself, and don’t put yourself down. Value yourself for who you are and express your needs and how you feel about things.

You can think before you respond.

Don’t text or post while angry. You might say things you regret. Sleep on it or ask someone to read what you have written before you hit send.

You can pick your battles.

Don’t feed the trolls! You don’t need to take everything personally or respond to everything you disagree with. Pick and choose what to respond to and how to respond to make the biggest impact. Sometimes saying nothing or ignoring is more powerful than arguing.