Cyberbullying and online harm
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Time to read
Estimated Time: 50-60 mins
By Years 9-10, students’ online lives are deeply social and spread across multiple platforms, blurring school, home and friendship groups. Harm is often described as “drama”, “banter” or “just joking”, even when the impact is serious, and digital features like screenshots, group chats and public visibility can make problems spread fast and stay visible. Schools need a wider, student-relevant way to understand online harm — not only “cyberbullying” — because behaviours like harassment, exclusion, impersonation, image-based abuse and identity-based harm can overlap and escalate through peer dynamics and online norms.
This session helps ākonga recognise different forms of online harm, notice patterns and overlaps, and explore how technology changes the nature and impact of bullying. In broad terms, it builds empathy, links harm to wellbeing and relationships, and supports safe, practical actions for noticing and responding early. Part of the Netsafe Cyberbullying Prevention Toolkit.
This session
Theme: Moving beyond definitions into patterns, impacts, and the wider context of online harm. This session focuses on recognising different forms of harm, analysing their effects on wellbeing and relationships, and exploring the complex overlap between bullying, peer dynamics, and digital risks.
Learning outcomes: In this session, students will learn to:
- Identify different forms of online harm and explain how they can overlap.
- Describe how technology changes the nature and impact of bullying.
- Analyse how online harm can affect wellbeing and relationships.
- Suggest realistic, safe actions for noticing and responding to harm.
Activities:
- Pre-session student survey, or in-class rapid scan, 5 mins: Pick the core 6 harms
- Class discussion, 5 mins: Cyberbullying and online harm
- Small group activity, 10 mins: Harm type carousel — PDF carousel cards
- Small group activity, 25 mins: Online harm pattern map — PDF handout, PDF carousel cards
- Wrap-up, 8 mins.
- Extensions:
- More online harm types
- Digital online harm map
- Real life examples
Key messages:
- Online harm takes many forms - it’s not just mean comments or messages.
- What happens online can have real and lasting effects on wellbeing, friendships, and school life.
- Technology can make harm feel bigger: it spreads faster, lasts longer, and can reach anyone, anytime.
- Everyone plays a role - noticing, not joining in, and supporting others can make a real difference.
- If something goes wrong, help is always available - you don’t have to handle it alone.
Classroom resources:
- PDF Poster (Harm types)
- PDF Carousel cards (Harm types)
- PDF Worksheet (Online harm map)
Teacher support:
- Pre-session example student survey
- Facilitator guide – with context, research, and learning progression.
- Activity plan – with step by step instructions.
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Related Tools and Resources
- Year 9-11
- Cyberbullying
- 50-60 mins
Years 9-10 build practical consent-seeking skills for sharing online content and building stronger relationships online and offline. A Cyberbullying Prevention Toolkit session.
Years 9-10 recognise why it can be hard to act when online harm happens, and explore safe and realistic ways to respond positively. A Cyberbullying Prevention Toolkit session.
- Year 5-6
- Year 7-8
- Year 9-11
- Year 12-13
- Cyberbullying
- 20-40 per session
The Student Spark Kits help teachers support ākonga to lead practical actions that make their school communities kinder and safer - both online and offline. Part of the Cyberbullying Prevention Toolkit.