In EDLD 5316, we learned about digital citizenship.  While this concept was not new to me, this course was eye-opening because it brought attention to the breadth of the issue and the lack of attention being paid to digital citizenship in my school (and many schools, unfortunately.)

Much is said of digital citizenship when things go wrong.  The news is full of terrifying stories of teen suicides motivated by cyberbullying, identity theft, plagiarism, fraud, and digital addiction.  Just when we start to understand all the dangers of digital use, a new technology is born that creates new problems for keeping ourselves and our children safe online.  It’s difficult enough staying safe in the physical world; now we have to consider the digital world, too.  This is frustrating for so many reasons, especially for teachers, who are already overwhelmed with the many things we must do on any given school day.

But it is precisely because we are overwhelmed that we must find time to educate ourselves about digital citizenship and turn our attention to these threats.  Digital problems occur when we are unaware of the threats and ignorant of their consequences.  Cyberbullying happens online, where parents and teachers can’t (or don’t know how to) supervise.  Digital fraudsters and identity thieves thrive in an atmosphere of ignorance because people don’t know how to protect themselves.  Plagiarism takes over in an academic setting when teachers and schools don’t teach and enforce positive digital habits (or know how to check).  And digital addiction — like any other form of addiction — requires parents and students to stay educated and vigilant about healthy digital habits.

Kids and teens, because of their lack of maturity and life experiences, have difficulty navigating digital spaces.  Because their online identities are often obscured by usernames and anonymous posting, it is easy for them to experience deindividuation (where they feel they are part of a larger group of people who are acting a certain way, and it’s not just them) and disinhibition (where they feel less inhibited because they are anonymous).  It is easy for young people to fall into bad digital habits, especially when it comes to cyberbullying.  Bullying has always been a problem with kids and teens, but the problem is especially troublesome when it happens in a digital environment.  In the past, the victim of a bully could go home to escape the bullying.  Now, the bullying can happen anytime, and can be repeated over and over, each time a person reposts, forwards, or “likes” a bullying post (Hinduja, 2015).  Adults often assume that since cyberbullying doesn’t result in physical injuries, it is just a case of “kids being kids,” but the growing data about cyberbullying shows that it can have very severe consequences to young people’s mental health, even resulting in suicide.

We can’t protect kids from everything, but by learning about digital citizenship, we can prepare our kids to stay safe, healthy, and happy online and off.  We can also benefit in the same way by learning as much as we can about digital citizenship and practicing good digital habits, ourselves.

 

 

 

 

Resources:  

Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2015). Bullying beyond the schoolyard: Preventing and responding  

to cyberbullying. (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

 

Marshall, T.H. (1950). Citizenship and social class: and other essays. Cambridge, MA:

University Press.

 

Ohler, J. (2010). Digital community: Digital Citizen. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

 

Ribble, M. (2015). Digital citizenship in schools: Nine elements all students should know. (3rd

ed.). Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology.