Giving Compass' Take:

• Bekah McNeel reports that social distancing is increasing the amount of time kids spend online, increasing exposure to bullying on social media during an already stressful time. 

• How can funders help families and schools support kids' mental health in this time and beyond? 

• Read more about student bullying. 

For years, parents and educators have been worried about how kids interact with each other online. Now, online is all they have.

The COVID-19 outbreak has kids contained in their homes, attending school online, minimizing face-to-face contact, and missing their friends. In the age of social distancing, experts say, families need to pay extra attention to how kids behave on social media.

For Alex Paloglou, 17, a junior at San Rafael High School in the San Francisco Bay Area, the increased dependence on social media “hasn’t brought much of a change for me.” That’s mainly because Paloglou is also a student leader with Beyond Differences, a national social and emotional learning nonprofit that promotes social connectedness, belonging and online kindness.

He was already using social media frequently, Paloglou said, and trying to behave exactly like he would if his onscreen peers were standing in front of him. That’s part of the etiquette he learned back in middle school from Beyond Differences’s Be Kind Online curriculum.

Such etiquette is needed now more than ever, said Beyond Differences founder Laura Talmus. The 10-year-old nonprofit creates free resources used by 6,100 teachers and student leaders in 50 states, Talmus said. The demand is driven by reports of bullying, sexual harassment and other risky behaviors online.

Those behaviors are always concerning, but the combined stress of flattening-the-curve measures, family financial pressure and anxiety over COVID-19’s onslaught could lead to more harsh words online, she said.

“We should brace ourselves for an onslaught of insensitivity,” she said.

Read the full article about social distancing and bullying on social media by Bekah McNeel at The 74.