Digital Assertiveness & Wellbeing Strategies

trusted adults in specific settings; my body is mine

When something on a screen makes me feel confused or upset, telling a grown-up I trust is what keeps me safe — it is not getting someone in trouble and it is not a sign I did something wrong.

The child stops using a digital device when a trusted adult asks, without significant distress, on most occasions. The child tells a trusted adult when they see or are shown something online that makes them feel confused, scared, or uncomfortable, across more than one observed occasion. The child does not share personal information with strangers in digital contexts — their name, address, school, or family details.

simple assertive language — 'I don't want to', 'please stop'

The ways I protect myself in person — saying no, walking away, telling someone — are the same moves I can make online, even when the person is far away and I can't see them.

The child exits digital content they recognise as unkind, distressing, or inappropriate for them, without needing an adult to direct them, on most observed occasions. The child uses simple assertive language in digital communication — 'I don't want to', 'please stop', 'I'm going to tell an adult' — when a peer behaves unkindly online. The child keeps to family or school rules about device use — time, place, content — without constant reminders.

repair routine and direct boundary statements

A digital boundary I set for myself is different from a rule someone set for me — I can keep it not because I am told to but because I have chosen what kind of digital life I want to have.

The student names their own digital boundaries — when they will and will not use a device, what they will and will not engage with — and largely keeps to them without external reminders, across multiple contexts. The student speaks up or exits group chats, games, or platform interactions where peers behave unkindly, excludingly, or unsafely. The student takes independent action when content or interaction is affecting their wellbeing — muting, blocking, unfollowing, reporting, stepping away — without adult prompt.

paraphrase technique; I-statements under pressure

Self-care in a digital environment is a deliberate practice, not a default — because the environment is actively working against it, my wellbeing-supporting practices have to be designed and sustained on purpose.

The student maintains their stated digital boundaries under social pressure — friends pushing them to re-join a chat, return to a game, check a notification — on more than one observed occasion. The student uses assertive communication in difficult digital interactions without escalating into harshness, abandoning the conversation, or capitulating against their stated position. The student adjusts their digital practice in response to evidence they have collected about its effects on their attention, mood, or sleep — and can point to the adjustment and the evidence that drove it when asked.

facilitation of difficult conversations

Sustained digital wellbeing is not a performance I put on when tracked and drop when not — it is what I actually do, which is why the test is what happens in the ordinary weeks when nobody is watching.

The student sustains digital wellbeing practices across extended periods — not only in a week when someone is tracking, but as an integrated part of their life, across terms. The student holds their position in digital disagreements or conflicts without becoming harsh, performative, or retreating — showing substantive assertiveness that addresses the other person's argument rather than their identity or the audience. The student notices when their digital practice is not serving them well and adjusts proactively — before a crisis or a forced break — on more than one observed occasion across the year.

mature facilitation

Mature digital agency is an expression of who I am — not a set of rules I follow, not a performance I curate for others, and not a protest I advertise — and the proof is that the way I behave online is the way I behave, full stop.

The student treats their digital life as an expression of their values — what they engage with, what they create, what they refuse — and can articulate this stance when asked, without turning it into a public performance. The student supports peers navigating digital pressure, conflict, or harm, without taking over the situation, without shaming the peer for being in it, and with authentic respect for the peer's own agency. The student holds consistent digital practices across contexts without the quality shifting based on who is watching.