Digital Citizenship and Ethics

            Digital Citizenship, ethics, and netiquette are characteristics abandoned for internet users.  The golden rule of, “Do unto others as you would have done to you” should carry over to the net, but rephrased.  MR Villano, the contributing editor of the Technological Horizons in Education Journal states, “Text unto others… as you would have them text unto you” (Villano, 2008). 

            To accomplish this, digital citizenship and digital ethics have been contrasted to aid in humans demonstrating correct behaviors while on the internet.  Digital citizenship is defined as by Mike Ribble is, “The norms of appropriate behavior with regard to technology use” (Ribble, 2013, Pg.1).  There are nine elements to digital citizenship, digital access, digital commerce, digital communication, digital literacy, digital etiquette, digital law, digital rights and responsibilities, digital health and wellness, and digital security.  A site that explains many of these themes is

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/advice-for-parents/be-good-digital-citizen-tips-teens-and-parents, but focuses on digital security mainly.  On this site teens speak about what you should share online, and how to respect the privacy of others while on the net.  Here is a video from the site where teens give personal accounts of things they have experienced while using the internet:

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/video/modal/1248956

What we have to remember, that everything we do on the internet leaves a digital fingerprint, so once it’s out there, there’s no getting it back. 

            Netiquette is where the golden rule comes into play.  Virginia Shea boasts that there are ten rules to internet netiquette.  She states that, “In cyberspace we state the golden rule in even a more basic manor, Remember the human” (Shea, 2011, Pg. 1).  What she means is when we communicate electronically, we don’t see the person on the other end of the chat or discussion.  We do not see their facial expressions, gestures, or even hear their tone of voice.  What we have to remember is that there is another human on the other end that still has feelings and may misconstrue certain phrases or terms as negative, discouraging, or hurtful.  These kinds of behaviors are unacceptable and shouldn’t be done, but unfortunately it happens frequently.  There are some specific questions you should ask yourself before posting something online, for example, “Would I say this to them face to face”?  If the answer is no, rewrite and reread you post.  The website for all ten rules can be found at: http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html.  Rule two is you should adhere to the same standards of behavior on the net as you do at home.  Being ethical is a major factor in this rule.  Being ethical is really just having good manners.  IF what you’re doing on the net isn’t something you would normally do at home, it’s usually a sign of bad netiquette.  Sometimes being ethical is knowing where you are in cyberspace.  What may be acceptable behavior in one area of the web may not be acceptable in another. 

            Lastly, I feel there has been a decline in computer skills with returning adult students.  Whether that is from a lack of learning computer skills before entering and during the career of these students is unknown, but as they progress through school digital ethics and digital netiquette become vital for each program they are in.  This is mainly due to the ignorance of students who are new to the web and using it for new projects.  It is our responsibility as digital citizens to properly instruct adult students who have weak computer skills what’s right and wrong on the internet, and teach them the ten rules of netiquette, and the nine themes of digital citizenship so that they may be good stewards to other students and people who the encounter on the internet.

 References:

Shea, V. (1994). Netiquette . (1st ed., pp. 1-20). San Rafael, CA: Albion.com.

Ribble, M. (n.d.). Nine elements: Nine themes of digital citizenship. Retrieved May 30, 2012, from http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/Nine_Elements.html

Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2010). Netiquette: Rules of behavior on the Internet. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/netiquette-rules-behavior-internet/