C. Healthy Living · Healthy Living: Informed Choices for Body, Mind and Relationships

Connected and Safe: Benefits, Risks and Safe Use of Electronic Communication

C1.2About 70 minutes

Learning goals

I can describe benefits and risks of electronic communication technologies like phones, social media, messaging and online games.
I can explain risks such as harmful content, sexual predators, bullying, sexting and loss of privacy.
I can describe and use strategies to keep myself and others safe online.
I can explain what to do and where to get help if something goes wrong.

Words to know

electronic communication technology
Tools for sending and sharing messages and media: phones, texting, social media, video calls, online games with chat.

digital footprint
The record of everything you post, share, like and search, which can be copied and can last a long time.

privacy settings
Controls that limit who can see your posts, contact you, or find your location.

sexting
Sending, receiving or forwarding sexual messages, photos or videos by phone or online.

sextortion
Threatening to share someone's sexual images unless they send more images, money or something else. It is a crime.

grooming
When someone builds trust with a young person (with attention, gifts, flattery or secrecy) in order to exploit or abuse them.

pornography
Sexually explicit material made for adults. It does not show realistic, respectful relationships or consent.

A note before you start

This lesson deals with a serious topic. Take breaks if you need them. If anything in it reminds you of something hard in your own life, talk to a trusted adult, or contact Kids Help Phone (call 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT to 686868, any time, free and confidential).

Your phone: a pocket-sized superpower

With a phone you can video-call a cousin in another province, learn guitar from a video, find a bus route, organize a team practice and share your art with the world. The same tools can also bring harmful content, unwanted contact, bullying and privacy problems into your life.

The Grade 9 curriculum asks you to demonstrate an understanding of the benefits and risks of using electronic communication technologies (for example, easy access to useful information and entertainment but also to harmful or undesirable information and entertainment, such as pornography; enhanced ability to stay in touch with friends but also increased possibility of exposure to sexual predators, bullying, and sexting; ability to communicate one's thoughts and creative efforts to the rest of the world but also increased potential for loss of privacy) and describe strategies that they can apply to ensure their safety while using these technologies (C1.2).

Remember from Grade 8

In Grade 8 you practised assessing situations for danger in person and online, including sextortion and requests for images, and made an exit plan. In Grade 9 you look at the full picture: the benefits and the risks of the technology itself, and a toolkit of safety strategies.

The three pairs from the curriculum. Each benefit (left) comes with a matching risk (right). Safe use means keeping the benefits and managing the risks.

The risks, explained

Harmful or undesirable content. The internet includes violent content, hate, dangerous "challenges", misinformation, and pornography. Pornography is made for adults; it shows unrealistic and often disrespectful ideas about bodies, sex and relationships, and usually leaves out consent, communication and protection. It is not a guide to real, healthy relationships. If you see something upsetting, close it and talk to a trusted adult. That's not getting in trouble; it's getting support.

Sexual predators. Some adults (and sometimes older teens) use games, chats and social media to groom young people: lots of attention and compliments, gifts or game currency, asking to move to a private app, asking you to keep secrets, then asking for images. Warning signs: someone you've never met in person who seems "too perfect", asks personal questions, wants secrecy, or asks for photos.

Bullying. Online bullying can happen 24/7, reach many people fast and be anonymous.

Sexting. In Canada, sending or sharing a sexual image or video of anyone under 18 is a crime under child pornography laws, even if the person in it is a teen who took it of themselves, and so is having such images of other people. Sharing an intimate image of anyone without their consent is also a crime. Once an image is sent, you lose control of it.

Loss of privacy. Posts, screenshots and location data can be copied and kept. Your digital footprint can affect friendships, school, teams and future jobs.

Strategy	How to do it
Lock down privacy	Set accounts to private; approve followers; turn location sharing off or limit it to family
Protect accounts	Strong, different passwords (or a passphrase); turn on two-step verification; never share passwords, even with close friends
Think before you post	Would I be okay with my grandparent, coach or future employer seeing this? Is it kind? Is it someone else's to share?
Know who you're talking to	Only accept requests from people you know in real life; be suspicious of anyone asking for secrecy, photos, or to move to another app
Never send sexual images	You can't un-send them, and under 18 it is illegal. A real friend or partner won't pressure you
Manage your time	Turn off non-urgent notifications; phones out of the bedroom at night; take breaks
Be an upstander	Don't forward hurtful posts or images; report them; check in on the person targeted

A safety toolkit for electronic communication.

Ontario school phone rules

Since September 2024, Ontario students in Grades 7 to 12 may not use cellphones during class time unless the teacher allows it for learning, or for health, medical or special education reasons, and social media sites are blocked on school networks and devices. The goal is fewer distractions and more focus, a real-life example of managing technology's risks.

Five steps if something goes wrong, such as a threat, a sextortion message, or an image shared without consent. Never deal with it alone.

Where to get help in Canada

NeedHelpNow.ca helps teens stop the spread of sexual images or videos and deal with the fallout.
Cybertip.ca is Canada's tipline to report the online sexual exploitation of children.
Kids Help Phone: call 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT to 686868, 24/7.
Police: call 911 if someone is in immediate danger; otherwise your local police non-emergency line.
Report accounts and posts to the platform too.

Worked example

Let's spot grooming in a game chat

Dylan, 14, meets "Jay" in an online game. Jay says he's 15, gifts Dylan game skins, compliments his skills, then says: "Let's chat on a private app. Don't tell your parents, they won't get it." A week later Jay asks for a shirtless photo "for fun". What warning signs do you see, and what should Dylan do?

Gifts and flattery to build trust quickly.
Moving to a private app, away from moderated spaces.
Secrecy: "don't tell your parents" is a major red flag.
Request for an image, slowly testing boundaries.
Response: don't send anything; stop replying; take note of the username and messages; block and report in the game and app; tell a parent or trusted adult; report to Cybertip.ca.

These are classic grooming signs. Dylan isn't in trouble and did nothing wrong by being friendly. The right move is to stop, block, report and tell an adult.

Worked example

Let's weigh a post

Maya wants to post a video of her friend falling off a skateboard. It's funny and would get lots of views. Use the strategies to decide.

Is it mine to share? It's her friend's moment, not hers.
Is it kind? It might embarrass the friend.
Digital footprint: once shared, others can save and repost it.
Decision: ask the friend first. If they say no, don't post. If yes, maybe share privately.

Asking permission before posting someone else's image respects their privacy and is part of being safe online.

Hands-on activity

Privacy and safety check-up

You need: your phone or computer and a grown-up.

Open each app or game you use. Check: Is the account private? Who can message you? Is location sharing on?
Turn on two-step verification for your main accounts.
Search your name online with your grown-up. What comes up?
Look at your last 10 posts. Would you be okay with a coach, teacher or employer seeing each one?
Together, write a family tech agreement with three rules (e.g. phones charge outside bedrooms; ask before posting others; tell each other about anything upsetting, with no punishment for telling).

What to look for: settings actually changed, and an agreement that protects safety and trust.

Your turn

Name two benefits of electronic communication technologies.

Name the risk that matches "staying in touch with friends".

What is a digital footprint?

Give three warning signs of online grooming.

Is it legal in Canada for a 15-year-old to send a sexual photo of themselves? Explain.

Name two places a Canadian teen can get help if a sexual image is shared.

Give two strategies to protect your accounts.

More practice: warm-up

Should your social media accounts be public or private?

True or false: once you send a photo, you can always get it back.

What should you do first if a stranger online asks for photos?

What phone number reaches Kids Help Phone?

What is sextortion?

More practice: on your own

Explain why pornography is not a good source of information about relationships.

A friend wants to forward a sexual photo of a classmate that is going around. What do you say and do?

Why is location sharing a privacy risk?

Explain how the same benefit (sharing creative work) can become a risk.

Why is "don't tell your parents" such a big warning sign?

Challenge

Someone threatens to post a teen's image unless they pay $200. Outline the steps the teen should take and explain why each matters.

Create five rules for a Grade 9 student's safe and balanced use of technology. Give a reason for each.

Using C1.2's three benefit-and-risk pairs, argue whether teens should get phones at 14. Show both sides.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which is a risk of electronic communication named in the curriculum?

Which is a warning sign of online grooming?

In Canada, a sexual image of someone under 18...

What is the best first response to a sextortion threat?

Which strategy best protects an account?

Which website helps teens stop the spread of their sexual images?

For parents and teachers

About this content: This lesson covers C1.2 in the Personal Safety and Injury Prevention topic and quotes its wording, including the curriculum's examples of pornography, sexual predators, bullying and sexting. These are discussed factually, with a focus on safety and getting help. No humour block is included because of the topic.

Big idea: demonstrate an understanding of the benefits and risks of using electronic communication technologies... and describe strategies that they can apply to ensure their safety while using these technologies (C1.2).

Facts used: Canada's Criminal Code child pornography provisions cover distributing sexual images of anyone under 18 (including self-made images) and possessing such images of others (courts have recognized only a narrow exception for private images that are never shared), and it is a crime to share intimate images of anyone without consent; NeedHelpNow.ca and Cybertip.ca are run by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection; Ontario's cellphone restrictions in schools took effect September 2024.

How to help at home:

Promise your teen that telling you about something upsetting online will not lead to punishment or losing their phone. Fear of losing devices is a main reason teens stay silent.
Do the privacy check-up together.
Talk calmly about sextortion; teens should know it's a crime against them and that adults will help.

Common difficulties: believing self-made images are legal; thinking private accounts are fully safe; blaming victims of image sharing.