Hook:

Tell the students about a personal story about how technology has affected a relationship of yours and what you feel about it. For example, you can share the following story:

Nowadays everybody is on either their phone/tablets, etc. It has come to a point where even people eating together would rather chat on Facebook with someone rather than talking to the person in front. The other day I went out with a friend for lunch and she was so busy with her phone listening to her music and chatting with someone on her phone, that she didn’t even realize that the waiter and I were waiting for her to place her order. I was not able to get her attention as she on constantly looking at her phone. She could not even listen to me because she had her headphones on. So, I decided to text her even as that was the best way of getting her attention even though she was 2 feet across from me. Is this alright? Is this what real communication has come down to?

DFC Video Activity:

Play the video BTC2014 Hong Kong: The Real Social Network (http://bit.ly/2be1s0F)

Activity: Share your ideas!

1. Draw connections with the video to your own life.
2. How do technological gadgets affect communication and relationships?
3. What does optimism mean to you in terms of its importance?
4. What is one thing that you would have done differently than the students in the video?

Activity (Write an essay - What would you do?):

Come up with a list of 3 reasons why relationship bonds are growing stronger and 3 reasons why relationship bonds are growing weaker in today’s day and age. After that, come up with 10 specific actions you would do differently from today onwards to grow your bonds closer with people around you (whether it is your parents, friends, relatives, neighbours, etc.)

Teacher Tip: Highlight the idea to come up with specific actions and not vague ones.

Closing the Loop and Assessment:

Emphasize on the idea that: It is important to reflect on what institutions like family, friendships, etc. mean and see the importance of communication in it. Optimism to attain one’s vision is extremely crucial because if the person initiating something constructive does not believe in the outcome, the other stakeholders would not either.

At the close of the session, ask the students to think, pair, share about 1-2 actions they would do differently after this lesson.

Ask the students to complete the following self-reflection using the following rating scale:

1 = Not Yet, 2 = Need Support, 3 = Making efforts, 4 = Almost a habit, 5 = I CAN

1. I am able to reflect on and differentiate between the favourable and unfavourable ‘spots’ in today’s world _____
2. I am able to feel optimistic about possibilities of change when I see an unfavourable situation_____
3. I am able to notice my feelings and feelings of others in a particular situation_____

Suggested activity: Identify relationships in your life in which you would like to build stronger bonds. Think about what is stopping from those bonds to become stronger and take 2-3 actions to make that happen.