Who are digital citizens And What Is Digital Citizenship?
Digital citizenship is the act of using digital tools using the internet at any level. A digital citizen is a person who is more active in the Digital world and uses it in his day-to-day life. Since the past decade, the advancement in technology is immense, and technology has increased exponentially. With the more use of tech, people spend half of their day in the digital world. With the ease of availability of the internet, digital citizenship applies to all those who make regular and effective use of the internet. And one can see the best use of digital tools in schools, especially, in boarding schools in Dehradun and girls boarding schools in Dehradun. These schools are also making their students a digital citizen.
Various Kinds of people in the digital world?
Citizenship allowance requires active use of the digital platform. People of any age-group can be part of this circle. But to be more precise, there are mainly two categories of the citizen; in layman language, we can categorize them as the good one and the bad one.
The good citizen makes a practical use to interact with other citizens on the digital platform through social media and different tech zones. They formally are present to spread positivity, share their thoughts, and make lasting relationships with other peers. Most of them are there to utilize the digital world to create effective use of their time and grow as a person as well professionally.
But the other category of citizenship entertains irresponsible activities like cyberbullying, uses social media for criticism, fake identity, and misleads other citizens and creates havoc in the society. They are present to threaten and make money, irresponsive use of social media, and degrade the digital world’s environment. Such activities are due to lack of knowledge, bad etiquette and lack of other character traits which need to be solved to make a better and safe work zone at digital platforms.
Its importance and Advantages
- Digital citizenship is like a weapon which if utilized effectively and works as a boon for us.
- Make everlasting relationships with others and share your experiences with your friends through various social media platforms.
- Build communication with people from other countries and know about their culture, lifestyle and living standards.
- Opportunity to grow yourself personally and professionally. Many companies make perfect use of social media to advertise, recruit and develop their online world stability.
- Build connections, share knowledge and experience and open up yourself to the digital world through digital citizenship
- Chance to showcase your skills and talent to the whole world.
Precautions
There are some elementary aspects which need to be looked upon before entering the digital world. Since students have no access to digital citizenship at a young tender age, there are possibilities that they might get caught in the web of attackers and get involved in unethical groups or activities without their knowledge. So it’s crucial that students get proper teaching and learning about the digital platform. Teachers need to acknowledge students with the dangers and adequate usage of tech and social media. Some of the crucial aspects that need to be taught in schools are-
- Maintain etiquette: Digital citizenship gives you access to enter a new world, but citizens must maintain proper decorum and ethics.
- Access time and needs: It’s important that citizens, especially students, invest their time effectively in the digital world and squeeze the maximum optimization of digital citizenship.
- Personal Privacy: people need to be aware of hackers and cybercriminals and need to keep their Privacy safe and secure. Students who make the maximum use of social media and other digital platforms need to be taught how to be safe and secure their Privacy.
- Awareness: citizens need to be aware of the critical events and the latest news in the digital world. They should be mindful of the consequences of their steps and maintain the decorum of the digital arena.
- Maintain distance with lousy company and collaboration: keep distance with unknown and fake citizens who may mislead and get you in serious trouble.
- Web security: people should have prior knowledge of web securities to use the digital world seamlessly.
- Moral ethics and proper social media usage: It’s essential that citizens maintain sound ethics at social media and act responsibly with their social presence.
- Have complete knowledge before jumping at the digital world: Since the access to the internet and other devices, gadgets are inclusively available to people of all age groups, citizens must have the right knowledge before jumping in the digital zone.
Conclusion
The digital world provides an equal opportunity for every person with different personality traits to interact and grow at a personal and professional level. But if the citizens make proper usage with moral ethics and etiquette, have traditional knowledge of its securities, privacy protection and scope of development, then digital citizenship can produce optimal outputs to their problems.
