Digital Citizenship: Navigating the Online World Responsibly and Safely

What Is Digital Citizenship and How Does It Impact Our Lives? In digital citizenship essay this topic will be discussed. In today’s society almost everyone of all ages are considered digital citizens. A digital citizenship refers to a person utilizing information technology in order to engage in society, politics, and government. According to K. Mossberger, “digital citizens are those who use the internet regularly and effective.” Digital citizenship is not only a daily lifestyle, but it can be considered a full time career. Being a citizen in the digital world enables one to expand financially without being in occupations that require education, influence numerous people from the comfort of their homes, and brings overall awareness of the different uses of technology.

There are nine major themes within digital citizenship. One of these nine topics is digital etiquette. It is characterized as the guidelines of conduct and procedure. Digital etiquette is significant because without it, the cyberspace can easily become an unfriendly or hazardous place of false comfort. Another theme is digital literacy. Digital literacy is very important because this is the process of instructing and finding out about the new technological advancements and how to make use of the technologies. Schools and institutes of higher education, have been precise with teaching and learning about technology and the use of technology for numerous years. However, there is a lot of work that still needs to be done. The ultimate goal is for learners to be taught on how to cope with the digital society and apply it to their lives positively.

Another theme within digital citizenship is the ability to communicate digitally. Being able to communicate with others over a cyber environment is one of the most impactful things that changed our lives. In the nineteenth century, the ability to communicate through the use of technology was very limited. However, now in the twenty first century there has been a drastic change. The creation of the World Wide Web opened up new opportunities for expansion, not only for communication but for people to connect globally. The expansion of this technology changed everything because people have the ability to “keep frequent communication with anyone else, anywhere else.” 

The next theme is digital access. Digital access is another important aspect in digital citizenship. This is the ability to fully participate in digital society. This includes access to tools and technologies, such as the internet and computers, that allow for full participation. The sixth theme is digital commerce. Digital commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services using the internet, mobile networks, and commerce infrastructure. Commerce that is handled digitally is a large portion of the markets economy. This is significant because there are numerous money transactions being made world wide and it is all being held electronically.

Digital rights and responsibilities is another vital theme for digital citizenship. This theme grants the users the rights and freedom to use all type of digital technology.  Freedom of speech and the right to privacy is the main focus of this digital citizenship theme. The next theme is digital health and wellness. This sector of digital citizenship is very delicate because this is something that many people tend to lack and needs to be educated on. Health and wellness focuses on the physiological and physical well beings in a digital technological environment. The practice of health and wellness in important because many people tend to use their digital rights and responsibilities for negative purposes. Various people communicate over the internet in terrible manners which can easily be detrimental to another person's psychological well being. Also, individuals tend to develop habits that can lead to lack of eye safety, and stress syndrome due to being addicted to the internet. Digital citizens must learn to take care of themselves and not let the cyberspace get the best of them.

The last theme of digital citizenship is digital security. Digital security is the protection of one’s computerized identity, as it represents the physical identity on the network you are operating on or the internet service in use. Digital security incorporates the tools that individuals use to secure their identity, assets and technology. In the cyber environment there are endless amounts of corrupted people who steal and manipulate other digital citizens. Digital security is a vital part of digital citizenship because it is the forefront of the citizens protection.

The internet has become a huge environment for people to be reached in all kinds of ways. The cyberspace that we all have our citizenship in, also known as the internet is not only used for our personal entertainment. But it is one of our most resourceful assets in our world today. Citizens of this environment are given the luxury to reach others that are across the world within a matter of seconds. The internet is one of the main sources for communication in today’s society. As the internet spread across the world, it’s potential for communication was certainly realized. The emergence of instant messaging and video conferencing within new technologies signified that there were no limits to how digital citizens could communicate through the internet. In the article, Does the internet improve communication?, Murchie states, “We can now form online communities whereby people chat, share videos, send music and even post their feelings, thoughts and emotions online for their friends to access. Communication is no longer limited to just friends and family. Thanks to the internet, we now have the power to share our ideas and creations with the world.” The statement given is important because this depicts the use of the theme digital communication.

Social medias have become one of the most important ways to gain access to society. Social media is a collection of websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking. This compilation of websites and applications allows users to facilitate the sharing of information, thoughts, and ideas through virtual networks and communities. In present day, social medias are infested with social media influencers. Social media influencers are users on social media with a large audience, that have the ability to reach people from all over. Their influence stems from a good relationship with their followers, a sense of authority, and often a knowledge about a particular industry. These social media influencers are able to persuade others to buy from the brands they work with, and follow their beliefs. This is a representation of the theme digital access.

Before the recent technological advancements that provide live streaming, whenever there was breaking news we would need to turn on our televisions or listen to it on the radio. Now, that social medias provide live streaming and instant blog posting, it has been convenient for digital citizens to get real time updates from the luxury of their phones, no matter their location. In the article Tech Is Changing the Way We Get Our News, and It's Not Stopping by John Boitnott, the speaker says, “My bosses know that the actual newscasts are very important, of course, but in the age where information can be disseminated quickly, there's no better tool to do it almost instantly than Twitter, Facebook, or our website.” This statement is significant because previously, people were limited  hearing news only through radios, television sets or newspapers.

However, with the web, thousands of news sites and educative blogs contain articles, blogs, and contents written by top experts. It has made it possible for people to receive breaking news immediately after they happen. Being that digital citizens are given the opportunity to share ideas with people all around the world, this impacts technological advancements in various ways. The use of digital rights and responsibilities is shown in this sector because the people are now able to orchestrate their own form of news over the world wide web.

When an individual invents a new technology, they have the ability to share their innovation to everyone by simply promoting it on numerous platforms. Some ways a digital citizen might promote their new technology is through the use of social media, email service, behavioral targeting, or creating a website. When others view the advancements that is going on in the world, this strikes others to become motivated and make their own innovations. The internet is almost like one big makerspace. No matter on the person's creativity or uniqueness, everyone is granted the freedom to create and promote whatever they wish. Furthermore, we are fortunate enough to learn and educate each other on all the technological advancements that are taking place all around the globe.

Over the years, social media platforms became home to many people. There are individuals that have experienced abundant growth financially from simply being consistent on the web. Many people rely on certain social media platforms to make a living for themselves. This is impactful because the payments that they receive from these companies are what’s helping them maintain and provide for their families. As a digital citizenship this is a positive effect because people are given the option to enjoy themselves in the cyber environment and benefit off of it in great profits. This relates to the theme of digital commerce. An ecommerce is the commercial transactions conducted electronically on the internet. People with great followings use their audience to help them gain financially by giving them something to buy and/or support. In order for an individual to be able sell merchandise on the internet they must apply for an ecommerce business license.

Whether it’s used for personal business, politics, education or marketing, this environment gives everyone the chance to connect and share their ideas. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and Instagram are a few of the most popular platforms people go to influence others on business, education,  politics, and marketing. In Simon’s video, we are taught that the nine elements of digital citizenship is all apart of our daily lifestyles. As we use the technologies around us, we continuously follow these elements in order to have a safe, and well productive environment. The use of technology and being a digital citizenship is an important factor in our lives because it is designed to educate the citizens on how promote health and wellness, influence others, and grow financially while being in a safe environment.

Taking everything into account, individual's of our society must connect more often with the digital world. The impact that these technological advancements are capable of are almost never ending. There are plenty of advantages that comes with utilizing the cyber environment, yet we generally must be cautious in the digital world just like how we are in the real world. The ultimate goal should be, to become the best digitial citizen you can be.

References

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