Digital Citizenship

What is Digital Citizenship? <b>In my opinion, Digital Citizenship refers to rightful way to use technology by anyone who uses internet and digital devices so that there is no disharmony in the society. Example of digital citizenship includes avoiding hateful messages and vulgar languages while conversing with others online, avoid sharing post that can harm others sentiment, sharing photos and videos with proper consents and avoid sharing false information online. Recently, during lockdown period there was false information disseminated from fake Kuensel page and many people reacted badly without realizing it was fake news. Therefore, due to such reasons we should always find out the reliability and source of the news or any information posted online before we react. There are 9 elements of digital citizenship, they are; • Digital Access • Digital Commerce • Digital Communication • Digital Literacy • Digital Etiquette • Digital Law • Digital Rights and Responsibilities • Digital Health and wellness I will share some ideas on 5th element of digital citizenship which is Digital Etiquette. Digital Etiquette Digital Etiquette is the term used to describe the set of rules established to make the internet friendly to everyone. It is also conduct or procedure and the proper rules of behavior while using technology devices and interacting with others. Some of the rules of online etiquettes are; 1. Be respectful with others while chatting online. 2. Be aware of strong languages as other partner with whom you are sharing ideas might get wrong idea. 3. Be careful with humor and sarcasm because sometimes people might be in stress which may hurt their sentiments. 4. Grammar and spelling matter is very important because other person who is receiving information will get all information wrong. 5. Cite your sources if it is not your original work. 6. Be forgiving whenever you pass wrong information because there is high chance that it may create disharmony in the society. Why is digital etiquette important?  Without the digital etiquette the digital world would become a dangerous place of false comfort because people will not follow the rules.  Without good digital ground rules in place, misunderstanding, misinterpretation, and miscommunication can take place. Example; People may post private things which will hurt their sentiments.  Embedding strong digital etiquette practices at the heart of your culture will help nurture an environment where your people feel valued, visible, and respected. For example; if someone has created nice video on empowering women, viewers get to compliment authors work with respect. If there was no such rules, then people might copy paste that video making it as their own.