What Is Digital Citizenship? Teaching Kids to Be Smart & Safe Online
In this article, you will find:
Teaching kids about digital citizenship
Teaching digital citizenship usually starts with basic online-safety principles, like not sharing passwords with anyone (except parents, if absolutely necessary ), not sharing too much information in her profile and posts, and not "friending" or communicating with someone she has never met in person.
Next, it focuses on ethical online behavior: not posting (or "liking" or "sharing") mean comments about others; not tagging unflattering photos or gossipy posts about peers; trying to deal with disagreements and friendship issues offline; and never snapping, sharing, or circulating nude or inappropriate photos. As Common Sense Media says: if it's not something you would share with your grandmother or want posted in the halls of your school, don't say it or share it online.
Being a parent in the digital age can feel overwhelming. In general, teaching kids about digital citizenship means taking some of the ethics and safety conversations you're already having with your child one step further. For example, bring up cyberbullying when you're discussing bullying prevention, and make "sexting" part of your "birds and the bees" conversation.
"Golden rules" for the mobile era
Several websites and organizations celebrate Digital Citizenship Week (the third full week in October). Check out these online resources about digital citizenship for children of all ages:
- Common Sense Media's videos on digital citizenship and family tip sheets to help you talk with your kids about everything from cyberbullying to risky online relationships
- PBS Kids' Webonauts Internet Academy — a space-themed online game that teaches younger Web users about the basics of online safety smarts
- Netsmartz Workshop, a program of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which offers online safety guides for parents and online quizzes, games, and comics for tweens and teens who are learning about digital ethics and safety
- BrainPOP's Spotlight on Digital Citizenship, a series of quizzes, information guides, and lesson plans on various online ethics and safety topics for kids, especially tweens
- CyberWise — a hub of digital citizenship resources for parents
- MediaSmarts, Canada's Centre for Digital and Media Literacy, which offers a tutorial called "Raising Ethical Kids for a Networked World" and tip sheets for teens to learn appropriate online behavior