Guide

Talking to Teens About Online Hate Speech: A Guide for Parents and Families

Help teens identify, process, and think critically about online hate speech to help minimize its harmful effects.

Subject

Advisory
Civics & Citizenship

Language

English — US

Updated

December 5, 2023

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Talking to Teens About Online Hate Speech: A Guide for Parents and Families

Date of Publication: December 2023

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About this Guide

Raising children in a digital age makes it essential for parents to help them process and think critically about the messages they encounter online, and to consider the impact that their own words and actions can have on others.

Hate speech is pervasive on social media. This resource is designed to support parents and other adults in helping children identify, process, and think critically about online hate speech to help minimize its harmful effects. Before engaging in a conversation about online hate speech with your teen, we encourage adults to read our Current Events Strategies for Parents and Teens, which has helpful tips, reflections, and resources to help guide these discussions.

Facing History & Ourselves, “Talking to Teens About Online Hate Speech: A Guide for Parents and Families”, last updated December 5, 2023.

Unit

This unit is designed to help students in the UK reflect on how Islamophobia manifests in contemporary society and what needs to be done to challenge it.

Lesson

Students explore the roots of Islamophobia, reflect on its human cost and its impact on those who experience it, and start thinking about the importance of standing up against Islamophobia.

Uniformed high school students read at their desks.

Lesson

Students explore Islamophobic tropes, their troubled history, their evolution and their present manifestation in further depth, and consider the harm that their circulation can cause.

Picture of students working in a classroom.

Lesson

Students reflect on how Islamophobia manifests in the media and in the entertainment industry, and the potential consequences of being exposed to Islamophobic content.

Photograph of student in uniform working on a worksheet in class

Lesson

Students learn how Islamophobia intersects with misogyny and the impact that this has on the treatment of Muslim women.

Lesson

Students reflect on the impact of Islamophobia on Muslims’ sense of belonging, consider what can be done to foster integration, and explore ways in which they and others can challenge Islamophobia.