You already make ethical choices online every week. A friend asks you to share something. You see a cruel comment under a classmate's photo. An AI hands you an answer that looks right. In each case, somebody is owed something.
This lesson runs a full hour so you finish the Portfolio piece in class. You work three short dilemmas, take a quick position on one contested idea, and write a 100–150 word Ethical Dilemma Response naming the responsibility involved. That short reasoned piece is today's entry for your Communication Portfolio.
Three ideas run through every dilemma today.
| Term | What it means for you | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ethical dilemma: two responsibilities pull opposite ways and no choice is cost-free. | You name both pulls before you choose. | Keep a friend's group photo up, or back the person in it who wants it gone |
| Responsibility: what you owe someone in that moment. | Your response must name who is owed what. | Respect for someone's say over photos of themselves |
| Context: details that change a fair response without wiping the duty. | Same duty, different move, depending on the room. | The photo is in a chat of five friends, or on a public page |
One worked move. A friend posts a group photo from a party in your group chat and loves it. Someone else in the photo messages you privately: they hate it and want it gone.
A strong short answer does three things: names the pull (loyalty to the friend and respect for the person who asked), names the responsibility (not keeping someone's image up against their wishes), and chooses a move that fits the context (ask the friend privately to delete it or crop them out, or back the request in the chat). The answer is not "always delete" or "never get involved". It is a reasoned choice.
Work each card in order on your device. Choose what you would actually do, then read the think-about prompts. There is no score. Notice who is owed something in each situation, and what that something is.
1. Place yourself on the line
Short warm-up only. Put the marker where you actually stand on the statement, not where you think the room wants you.
2. Write your Ethical Dilemma Response
Now pick one of the three dilemma cards you just worked (share my shop / the cruel post / the AI answer). In the box below, write a continuous 100–150 word piece: what you would do, why, the responsibility you are naming, and one thing that might change your mind.
When you finish, save or export that piece to your Communication Portfolio as m2_l52_ethical_dilemma_<your-initials>. The file you save is today's Portfolio entry; you do not need to rewrite it elsewhere.
Talk this through with the person beside you, or sit with it quietly.
Which responsibility felt hardest to name today, and why does context change the move without cancelling the duty?
If you want a longer entry later, put one honest paragraph in your Reflective Journal about a time online when you knew what you owed someone and still hesitated. Only if you want to, and only a situation you are comfortable putting on the page, not something still raw. That journal entry is private and not required for the Portfolio.
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