The Birds That Chirp (A Story About E-safety)

"Can anyone tell me what a chirp is?"

Nearly every student raised their hand. I decided to choose a student at random to answer the question.

"Maya, can you tell me what a chirp is?"

"Yes, Mr. Neil. It means that you have a message on your phone."

It may not have been the answer that I was expecting, but it wasn't wrong. It is 2020. Times have changed.

"Where I come from, there are birds that make sounds, just like a phone."

This is today; a group of 7 year olds. But the alarm bells are about to ring further.

"How many of you use the Internet at home?"

Out of the 30 students, only a handful of them raise their hands

"How many of you go on YouTube?"

Many more hands are raised.

"How many of you play games online?"

Nearly every student has their arm raised.

"How many of you play on the computer unsupervised?"

"How many of you have had someone say something nasty to you online?"

"Would you ever go and meet an online friend?"

I was left shocked and staggered by the results. I am realising that we live in a completely different world to the one I grew up in. We are just leaving our children in a dangerous situation.

We wouldn't send them out at 3 in the morning to buy milk. But they are left to roam around the Internet; much of the content could be written by anyone.

We need to educate them. Not just me. Everyone needs to be involved.

We have to understand this;, birds chirp like a mobile phone. Even if we are to believe it is the other way around.

Written as a freewrite prompt provided by @mariannewest