Take 5!
“Step away from the computer and nobody gets hurt!”
The Internet is undoubtedly a fun and useful tool. Most of us can’t imagine not having access to cyberspace; it’s how we socialize, communicate, express ourselves, and more. But sometimes the impersonal nature of cyber-communications can lead to misunderstandings and abuses of this technology. It’s hard to express the exact feelings we want to convey when we chat online. The typed word does not express the tone that we easily recognize when we communicate face-to-face. Words are often interpreted exactly as they appear, even if they are meant sarcastically, or as a joke. These misinterpretations can lead to hurt feelings, anger, and fear. When the recipient of the misjudged message acts out of these feelings, things go from bad to worse. When we let our emotions guide our actions, we don’t think before we click. We send mean, hurtful messages, and we realize too late that we have become the cyberbullies. So, how can we prevent this from happening? The best thing to do is to Take 5! This means walking away from the computer and letting our emotions cool down. We can choose a five minute activity that can help us calm down and avoid becoming cyberbullies ourselves. There are many options: listening to music, napping, reading, baking, playing sports, watching TV…. What will you do to Take 5?
