Short Stories (Fiction) Question

View Find Similar

View this question.

Add this question to a group or test by clicking the appropriate button below.

Note: This question is included in a group. The contents of the question may require the group's common instructions or reference text to be meaningful. If so, you may want to add the entire group of questions to your test. To do this, click on the group instructions in the blue box below. If you choose to add only this question, common instructions or reference text will not be added to your test.

After school, Eliza ran to her mom’s car in tears. She practically launched herself into the back seat, and in her haste she closed the door so loudly it made her mom wince.

“Why are you upset, honey?” her mom asked. “You know better than to slam doors.”

“I’m sorry. Anne is mad at me,” she replied tremulously. “And over nothing, too!”

The car began its slow journey out of the crowded parking lot, and Eliza’s mom furrowed her brow. “What happened?”

“Anne posted pictures of herself making dumb faces, so I posted a comment that she looked ugly. But it was a joke- she was trying to look silly anyway.”

Her mom was silent for a moment, thinking. “Well, honey, it can be difficult to know when someone is being mean online or just kidding around. Without hearing your tone of voice or seeing your expression, your comment would seem mean, not funny. I guess that’s something you have to keep in mind when you post something online."

“It was a joke, though. She didn’t even ask if I was kidding- she just got mad,” Eliza protested.

“Even good friends can’t read your mind- you probably hurt her feelings. And when you think about it, what you said wasn’t nice, even if you were kidding. That kind of joke leads to people laughing at Anne, not with her. It’s not like you would make a joke like that about one of your friends in front of a big crowd at school.”

“What do you mean? It’s not like the whole school is going to look at it.”

“When you talk in the middle of a crowd, you’re not forcing anyone to listen in, but you’re still aware that people could be. Except online, the crowd is everyone in the whole world, and they can choose to listen in on that conversation anytime. Plus, when you post something online it’s there forever- if someone took a screenshot it would always exist, even if you did delete your comment.”

Her mom was steadfast in her opinion as usual, and as she spoke Eliza knew what she had to do. “I should apologize, right?” she asked. “And delete the comment right away.”

“I think so. Apologizing is the best way to make up for miscommunications like this.”

Eliza hugged her mom. “Thanks for the help! You always give the best advice.”

That night Eliza deleted her rude comment, and the next day she apologized to Anne profusely and explained what had happened. Anne forgave her, and the next time she posted something online, Eliza remembered to think of how her words could be read, not only how they sounded in her head.

Grade 6 Short Stories (Fiction)

What lesson about social media use does the story teach? Support your answer with details from the story.

Question Info

Short Stories (Fiction) Question

Grade 6 Short Stories (Fiction)