Pausa Digital 2° Cohorte | 3er Conversatorio

Summary

The third conversation in the “Pausa Digital” training course focuses on digital risks and their effects on students’ well-being, relationships, and learning. The presenters stress that online and offline life are closely connected: threats, humiliating images, conflicts, or gambling that begin on a phone can directly affect what happens at school—even when the device is not being used in class.

Main ideas

• Digital life is part of school life. A student may arrive distressed after being threatened online, avoid class because an image is circulating, or struggle to concentrate after spending the night gaming or betting. Digital experiences can affect identity, belonging, safety, and emotional well-being.
• Schools have a role when rights, safety, coexistence, or learning are affected. This does not mean teachers must police phones or solve everything. Their role is to notice changes, listen, provide support, and follow the school’s institutional procedures.
• Prevention and responsible technology use matter. Technology is not inherently harmful; how it is used matters. Schools and families can help young people think about privacy, consent, sharing images and stickers, and the possible consequences of forwarding content.
• Basic privacy settings can reduce exposure. The speaker recommends discussing private profiles and configuring WhatsApp so people cannot add a user to groups without their consent.
• Online content can spread beyond its original audience. Images, videos, and messages can be saved and redistributed, often without the subject’s consent. A seemingly minor joke can become persistent and widely visible.

Digital risks discussed

Grooming

Grooming is described as an adult’s deliberate process of gaining a child’s or adolescent’s trust online for the purpose of sexual abuse. It may begin with shared interests, games, attention, flattery, or gifts, and then move toward secrecy, requests, pressure, control, threats, and extortion. The presenter emphasizes that teachers do not need to become investigators, but should know how to recognize possible patterns and seek help.

Suggested response when a student discloses a concern:

1. Listen carefully. Pay attention not only to the student’s words but also to their manner and reactions.
2. Contain and reassure. Avoid blame and judgment. Helpful responses include: “You did the right thing by telling me,” “You’re not in trouble,” and “We’ll get help.”
3. Assess immediate risks. Ask relevant, specific questions—for example, whether the person is still contacting or threatening the student, knows where they live or study, or has asked to meet.
4. Preserve necessary information appropriately. Do not demand the student’s phone or ask them to forward abusive material. If information needs to be saved, discuss this with the student and follow institutional guidance.
5. Inform the appropriate people. Bring the matter to the school’s management team and follow the institution’s established procedures.
6. Activate the institutional response and coordinate as needed. Involve families and relevant authorities or support services when appropriate.
7. Do not confront the suspected aggressor or investigate alone. Avoid actions that could increase harm or cause the student to repeat a painful account unnecessarily.

The speaker notes that a single sign does not prove grooming. Changes in behavior should be considered carefully and in context.

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is peer aggression or humiliation carried out through digital platforms. Unlike a conflict that may end when school finishes, digital exposure can continue around the clock, spread widely, and involve anonymous participants.

Possible indicators include avoiding class or particular peers, repeated absences, requests to change classes, withdrawal from activities, lower academic performance, distress, isolation, anxiety around notifications, or stopping the use of social media. These signs are not proof on their own; a noticeable change is a reason to pay attention and offer support.

Suggested response:

• Protect and support the targeted student first.
• Limit further exposure where possible.
• Record what happened, when, and who was involved, following school procedures.
• Report the incident and activate the school’s institutional response.
• Address the situation pedagogically. Simply deleting a post may not address responsibility, repair, or coexistence.
• Include bystanders in prevention: people who see or receive harmful content can either spread it or help stop it.
• Consider consent when determining whether an image or post is abusive. The presenter says that posting an identifiable image of a classmate with negative comments, without consent and against their wishes, can constitute cyberbullying.

The speaker cited a figure from Kids Online Argentina 2025: 21% of surveyed children and adolescents reportedly experienced online abuse involving students from their school during 2024; 6% said it happened several times.

Online gambling and betting

Online betting is described as increasingly accessible through phones, available at all hours, and promoted in some social-media environments as harmless. Participation may be driven not only by money but also by excitement, competition, and a desire to belong. The speaker also warns that games offering rapid rewards or purchases through virtual wallets may encourage expectations of immediate gratification.

Potential warning signs include persistent concern about money, asking for money or accumulating debts, mood changes, poor sleep, reduced school performance, wanting to remain connected to betting platforms, and withdrawing from usual activities. The cycle of losing, trying to win the money back, betting more, and losing further can be difficult to break.

The school’s role is not to diagnose or label a student. Instead, staff can listen and ask open questions, such as whether the student is betting more than intended, trying to recover losses, or feels able to stop. The speaker recommends discussing gambling before a problem becomes severe and responding without judgment or public exposure.

Closing message

The presenters encourage school communities to make prevention an ongoing practice: discuss digital risks, share strategies among colleagues, work with families, and help students develop a healthier balance with technology. Adults should offer care, protection, empathy, and a dependable source of support—not shame young people or treat their online experiences as unreal.

Course information

The hosts explain that each course axis requires both the activity connected to the synchronous meeting and the published questionnaire. The presentation from the session is to be uploaded to the course platform for use in participants’ institutions. The hosts recommend keeping up with the material, although axes remain available until the course closes.

Speakers and sources featured

• Geraldina Fernández Tuñón — course host and moderator.
• Vanessa Dinit — course host and moderator.
• Erico Yáñez — guest presenter, introduced as a sociotherapeutic operator in addictions.
• Short opening video — shown as a prompt about digital culture and online identity; its source and speakers are not identifiable in the subtitles.
• Sources cited during the presentation: Kids Online Argentina 2025; the Argentine Penal Code, referenced in connection with grooming.