For many young people, digital communities are an extension of their offline communities.

They may even interact with people in both communities in similar ways, such as making jokes, supporting friends’ interests, sharing content, making plans, arguing and flirting. However, navigating online communities has some unique challenges. It can put formerly private interactions into public spaces. For example, instead of sending each other Valentine’s Day cards, young people may make public posts to each other’s social media accounts. Online communities also give young people continuous access to each other, which can make it harder to respect boundaries.

Help your child navigate online communities in safe and healthy ways by first talking with them about healthy relationships. Whether between friends, casual acquaintances or significant others, healthy relationships are built on empathy and respect. Help your child consider how other people may feel before they share, post or comment on content online. Give them examples of what respect looks like online: not making mean comments, not posting images of others without permission, and not sharing chats, emails or other content that was shared privately. Talk with your child about how to set these and other boundaries in their online relationships. Explain to them that relationships where the other person does not treat them with empathy or respect are not healthy.

Start a conversation about healthy relationships:

• How would you define a healthy relationship between friends? Does your definition change if it’s a romantic relationship?
• Do you have any friends that text too much? Let’s discuss some ways to handle that. For example, you can tell them that I don’t want you receiving texts during dinner.
• How do your friends respond when you ask them not to share photos of you online? What do you do if they don’t listen?

Many people use their online communities as a source of information. However, not all of the information shared is accurate.

It can be hard for anyone, including young people, to know what information they should trust. That is why an important part of digital engagement and building healthy online communities is verifying content before sharing it. When digital citizens know they can find reputable information in a digital community, it helps build trust. Teach your child to ask the five verification questions before trusting or sharing content online: (1) Where did the content come from? (2) Who created the content? (3) When was it created? (4) Where was it created? (5) Why was it created?

Start a conversation about verifying information:

• What’s the difference between an opinion and a fact?
• Have you ever believed something you read online, only to find out later it was false? What did you do?
• Do you have any online friends who share a lot of inaccurate information? How do you feel about that?

Online interactions can lack the social cues that help us determine how other people feel when we are face-to-face.

Without these cues, some young people may forget that there is another person reading and having an emotional response to the content they share online. Encouraging young people to develop empathy may help reduce bullying online by helping them think about other people’s feelings. Start by teaching your child to pause before posting content online. They should ask themselves: “How do I want people to feel about my content?” and “Who could be hurt by this content?” Remind your child that the way they treat people online should be no different than how they would treat them offline.

Start a conversation about empathy:

• Has anyone ever misunderstood something you posted online? How did you respond?
• Why do you think people say things online that they wouldn’t face-to-face?
• Have you ever read a mean comment about one of your friends online? How did it make you feel? Did you do anything?

Digital engagement requires action.

Young people will not have healthy online communities unless they take positive actions and discourage negative ones. If your child sees someone being teased or harassed online, help them find a way they are comfortable with to offer support. They may share private or public messages of support or a general statement urging people to be kind online. Your child should also bring attention to any information being shared in their online community that may not be reputable or accurate. They can take steps to verify the information and then share the results with the community while still being respectful to the original poster.

Help your child proactively model positive action online. By being kind and empathetic in their everyday online actions, they can help establish that being supportive and inclusive is the norm in their online community. Your child can also work with their friends offline to encourage positive behavior. For example, if a friend shares that they are planning to bully someone online, your child can encourage them to make a different choice.

Start a conversation about being a proactive digital citizen:

• What do you do when you see someone being teased online?
• What are some actions you can take to encourage people to be kind in your online communities?
• How would you respond if someone was sharing inaccurate information online accidentally? What if they didn’t back down, even after you showed them it wasn’t accurate?