Online Safety, Privacy, Well-Being and Etiquette

Remember from Grade 8

In Grade 8 you protected your privacy while researching and thought about how feeds are curated. Grade 9 goes deeper into security (scams, passphrases, account protection), personal data (what apps collect and why), well-being (yours and others'), and etiquette, the unwritten rules of communicating well online.

Let's start with a buzz

It's 9:47 p.m. and your phone buzzes: "URGENT: your parcel is on hold!" You did order a hoodie last week... Your thumb hovers over the link.

Scammers count on that moment. Reading online messages critically is one of the most practical literacy skills you'll ever learn.

Reading a message like a detective

Phishing messages are carefully written texts. You can analyze them with the same skills you use for any text: purpose, audience, word choice, design. Common clues:

1. Generic greeting: "Dear customer" instead of your name.
2. Urgency or fear: "within 2 hours", "your account will be closed". Pressure stops you from thinking.
3. Odd links: web addresses that are slightly wrong, use unusual endings, or are shortened so you can't see them.
4. Requests for personal or payment information: real companies don't ask for your password or full card number by text.
5. Too good to be true: "You won a free phone!" for a contest you never entered.
6. Mistakes in spelling or design, though newer scams (some written with AI tools) can look polished, so don't rely on this clue alone.

Privacy, personal data and security

Personal information (your full name, address, school, phone number, birthday, photos, location) can be used to find you, pretend to be you, or pressure you. Personal data is collected as you use apps: what you search, watch and click, where you are, who your contacts are. Companies use it to target ads and recommendations; data can also leak in a security breach.

Actions that help:

• Use privacy settings: private accounts, approve followers, limit who can message you, turn on tag review.
• Check app permissions: does a flashlight app really need your contacts and location? Turn off what isn't needed.
• Turn off location sharing in posts, and avoid posting where you are while you're there.
• Use a long, unique passphrase for each important account (for example four random words, like maple-trumpet-glacier-sock, which is just an example: never use one you've seen published). A password manager can help remember them.
• Turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA).
• Install updates; they often fix security holes.
• Never share passwords, even with close friends.

Well-being: yours and others'

Online spaces can be fun, creative and connecting. They can also affect sleep, mood and self-esteem.

• Notice how you feel. After scrolling, do you feel inspired or worse about yourself? Highlight reels aren't real life; many images are edited or filtered.
• Protect your sleep. Turn off notifications at night or charge your phone outside your bedroom.
• Curate your feed. Mute or unfollow accounts that make you feel bad; follow ones that teach or inspire you.
• Think about others' well-being too. A comment that seems funny to you can hurt someone. Don't pile on.

Etiquette and permission

• Tone is hard to read in text. Short replies ("k.") or ALL CAPS can seem angry. Re-read before sending.
• Respect the space. Stay on topic in class discussion boards; don't flood group chats.
• Ask before adding someone to a group chat, sharing a screenshot of a private conversation, or forwarding their message.
• Disagree respectfully: respond to the idea, not the person.

If something goes wrong

Don't reply to a scammer or harasser. Do take screenshots, block and report the account, and tell a trusted adult. If you clicked a bad link or shared a password, change your passwords right away and tell an adult. Help is also available from Kids Help Phone (1-800-668-6868, or text CONNECT to 686868) and Cybertip.ca.