Level: Grades 9-12

About the Author: Matthew Johnson, Director of Education, MediaSmarts

Duration: 1.5-2.5 hours

This lesson is part of USE, UNDERSTAND & ENGAGE: A Digital Media Literacy Framework for Canadian Schools.

Overview

In this lesson, students reflect on the ways in which digital media can cause stress. Through a series of role-playing exercises, they consider how social media can cause stress by making us compare the highlights of others’ lives to the lowlights of our own, and practice strategies for coping with digital stress.

Learning Outcomes

Big Ideas

Students will:

Understand:

• That interactions through digital media have real impact
• Reflect on their digital habits and coping skills
• That audiences negotiate meaning
• Consider the different roles that digital media play in their lives

Learning Goals

Know:

• Skills for managing stress and maintaining life balance
• How to manage the role of digital media in general, and social media in particular, in their lives

Do:

• Develop coping skills through performing short scenes 
• Create a media product (optional)
• Use social media for learning (optional)

This lesson and all associated documents (handouts, overheads, backgrounders) are available in an easy-print, pdf kit version.