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Ages 10+ · Digital Life · Kind and friendly
Group chats
💬group chat🔕mute🚪leave✋do not forward🧑tell a grown-up
A group chat is a crowd.
The big ideaIn a group, mute or leave, never forward a private message, and be kind.

How it works

A group chat is a crowd: lots of people see what you send, and some of them you hardly know.

You can be added to a group you did not choose. Look at who is in it with a grown-up, and leave if you want.

A private message is only for the person it was written to. A screenshot of it, or forwarding it, is not yours to share.

When a crowd laughs at someone, you do not have to join in. Write kindly to them on your own.

Mute• The group goes quiet• You stay in• Good when messages pile upLeave• You are out of the group• Say thanks first• Okay, even for a group you did not choose
Two ways out of a noisy group.
A messagearrivesStop and thinkWas it meantfor a crowd?Would theymind?
Before you forward.

Example 1: Lena and Marcus's message

  1. A screenshot of Marcus's private message is put in the group, and someone asks Lena to forward it.
  2. Lena asks herself how it would feel if her private message was shown to everyone.
  3. She takes her thumb off the arrow and tells Mom.
  4. Then she writes kindly to Marcus, just to him.

Example 2: Too many messages

  1. The group sends hundreds of messages, and they pile up like a long train.
  2. You do not have to read them all.
  3. You can mute the group, so it goes quiet and you stay in, or you can leave.
Messages pile upMute or leaveA grown-up can help
A group that is too loud.

Example 3: Dev and the joke picture

  1. Dev sees a joke picture of a classmate in a group.
  2. He does not forward it.
  3. He writes to the classmate and tells his dad.

Words to know

group chat
A chat with lots of people, a crowd.
screenshot
A picture of what is on a screen.
forward
To send a message on to other people.
mute
To make a group quiet while you stay in it.
private message
A message written to just one person.

Watch out

Try it

  1. A friend's private message is in the group. Is it yours to forward?
  2. Which keeps you in the group: mute or leave?
  3. Is it rude to leave a group you did not choose?
  4. A crowd is laughing at a friend's message. What can you do?
Answers: 1. No · 2. Mute · 3. No, leaving is okay · 4. Write kindly to them on my own
Try at homeAsk a grown-up to show you how to mute or leave a group. Practise it together.
For grown-upsSit down together and find the mute and leave buttons in a chat your child uses, then practice leaving a group kindly.
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