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Potential Internet Addictions

Main Core Tie

Health Education I (7-8)
Strand 3: SAFETY AND DISEASE PREVENTION (SDP) Standard HI.SDP.3:

Additional Core Ties

Health Education I (7-8)
Strand 3: SAFETY AND DISEASE PREVENTION (SDP) Standard HI.SDP.5:

Time Frame

1 class periods of 45 minutes each

Life Skills

  • Thinking & Reasoning
  • Communication
  • Character
  • Social & Civic Responsibility

Authors

Cindy Baker
DEBORAH DICKSON
CATHERINE PETERSON

Summary

Understanding how to recognize potential dangers on the Internet can help students lead healthier lives. A student who spends disproportionate hours on the Internet is at risk of addiction. Areas of potential addiction include (but are not limited to) social networking addiction, gaming addiction, shopping addiction, gambling addiction and pornography addiction.


Materials


Background for Teachers

Less than 20 years ago, the rapid and phenomenal growth of the World Wide Web was only imagined. The Internet's power and influence is astounding. Nearly universal access to information, commerce and personal communication has changed our lives. A whole new vocabulary has been spawned.

Technology is used in school in hundreds of ways never previously imagined. A student can be like a one-man band, virtually toggling, listening, watching, manipulating and responding all at the same time. Students, whose lives have been electronically altered, must be able to recognize both the merits and the hazards of the Internet, and learn to use it appropriately before it uses them.

Understanding how to recognize potential dangers on the Internet can help students lead healthier lives. A student who spends disproportionate hours on the Internet is at risk of addiction. Areas of potential addiction include (but are not limited to) social networking addiction, gaming addiction, shopping addiction, gambling addiction and pornography addiction.


Student Prior Knowledge

Students should have basic computer literacy skills in accessing the Internet to benefit the most from this lesson.


Intended Learning Outcomes

  • Students will be able to identify Internet addictions.
  • Students will write ways Internet addictions affect teenagers.
  • Students will do a self-assessment to determine personal risk for Internet addiction.
  • Students will identify ways to modify their behavior for safer and healthier Internet use.


Instructional Procedures

  1. Introduction: Internet Addictions can affect student health and safety.

  2. Attention Getter: Pass out the "Internet Addiction Inventory" self- assessment and give them about 5-10 minutes to complete it. Pass out the "Internet Addiction Inventory Scale" so they can self-score their inventories.

  3. Multimedia Presentation and Discussion: Use the "Internet Addictions and Teens" PowerPoint, to guide student discussion of key points.

  4. Assessment and Wrap-Up: Write the following on the board and ask students to write a paragraph to answer each question.
    • How do you think heavy Internet use impacts students?
    • How do you think you could change any of your Internet usage behaviors?


Strategies for Diverse Learners

The use of multimedia, oral discussion, and written work reach across all domains, meeting the needs of various levels and learning styles.


Extensions

Students make posters about Internet safety, healthy use of the Internet, and communicating with friends without the net or cell phones.


Created: 10/27/2009
Updated: 01/15/2020
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