Digital Citizenship For Students: What Parents Must Teach Kids

A good digital citizen makes responsible choices in the digital world. They use technology as a tool for good, such as learning, exploring the world around them, spreading positivity, and speaking out, including calling out hate and harassment online.

A good digital citizen positively impacts their online spaces and uses their platform for good.

Why Is Digital Citizenship Important for Students?

Digital citizenship is important for students because, as children, they are filled with curiosity and want to soak up the world like sponges. Unfortunately, this also means they are impressionable, gullible, and easy to manipulate.

So, as parents, how do we protect our children from the dangers of the online world and teach them to be smart digital citizens, even as students?

Essential Digital Citizenship Skills for Students

Here are the basic skills to equip them:

Practicing Privacy and Digital Security

In this age of social media, where seemingly everyone is oversharing details about their personal lives and where hacking and catfishing are becoming increasingly common, it’s essential for students to learn how to safeguard their personal information online. You can set the foundations for them now so they can grow up as responsible digital citizens.

Thanks to the pandemic and the rise of online schooling, most kids now have their own email accounts and are part of multiple online platforms. When they create these accounts, teach them to create strong passwords that don’t contain personal information and are only used on one website or platform.

You can also start teaching them how to protect their privacy by limiting their posts and what they share online, especially if it’s something personal. Remind them never to post these things:

• Their full name, age, school, and address
• Their current or recent location or their vacation plans
• Their personal feelings or personal issues
• Any negative content that could put them in a bad light, such as rants or unflattering photos
• Details of their regular activities and whether they are supervised or unsupervised
• Photos of their friends and classmates without their consent
• Anything shared with them in confidence

Responsible Communication

Today’s students grew up in the digital age. As such, they did not have to learn how to use and navigate the digital world like we did. Learning everything tech-related became second nature to them, as natural as learning to write their names and identify their favorite colors.

Students must understand that while communicating in person or in private can be spontaneous and without a filter, posting and sharing on social media—whether as a public post or a semi-private one in a group—is different and can have significant consequences.

Start by teaching your kids to discern what can be shared online and what should be kept private.

To achieve this, start by teaching your kids to discern what can be shared online and what should be kept private. In relation to the previous point, teach your children that personal details about themselves, their friends, and family members must be kept private.

Next, teach your kids how to filter content that they share. Provide guidelines on the kinds of communication they can practice in private conversations and different Internet communication guidelines.

Lastly, reinforce your family values. Remind your kids to bring their manners to the online world and treat everyone respectfully. Teach them to think twice before posting anything and never post anything unkind, as everything they write, share, and post reflects on them.

Going Against Cyberbullying

Fighting cyberbullying is another aspect of digital etiquette. While you might think, “Ah, cyberbullying is quite extreme; my kid could never be involved in it,” you might be wrong. The anonymity of being behind a keyboard opens up a world where caution is often thrown to the wind.

Unlike real-life bullying, interactions and emotions can escalate faster online. The internet amplifies many things, including the spread of hate and negativity. When in disagreement or an argument online, getting caught up in strong emotions and resorting to personal insults is easier.

In person, this is less likely since we can see the other person face to face and rely on nonverbal communication. We usually know them personally, so we take extra care of their feelings and preserve the existing relationship. Without these factors, people tend to be more blunt online and sometimes forget the rules.

The reality is that a few negative messages or posts designed to put someone in a bad light or make the other person feel bad can count as cyberbullying. So yes, your kids are prone to being either victims or perpetrators of cyberbullying.

For students caught in an online conflict, simple guiding questions can help:

• “Can I say this thing I’m about to write straight to this person’s face?”
• “Will this make the other person feel bad about themselves?”
• “How would I feel if somebody said this to me?”

Discerning Real from Fake News

The internet is rife with fake news, misinformation, and smear campaigns, so what’s a savvy student to do? The first step is teaching your kids that things are not always what they seem when it comes to the online world.

No, their favorite influencers don’t spend all day shopping and lounging in cute coffee shops. Their favorite celebrity families don’t go out of the country every weekend for family trips or live perfect lives. Remind them that people only post the best and most positive parts of their lives online, which are carefully curated and often manufactured.

Teach them that the same principle applies to news. In the age of bloggers and influencers, real journalists are easy to overlook, and reliable news sources can get lost in a sea of opinions, unsourced information, and speculations.

Train your children to distinguish between real and fake news by checking sources, verifying and cross-checking online information, and relying on trusted journalists and official news sources for properly sourced information.

Talking to an Adult

Students are still children. No matter how much you teach and equip them, remind them that they can always run to adults—whether it’s you, other family members, or their teachers—for help.

Let them know that they can always come to you whenever they encounter something they’re unsure about or that makes them uncomfortable. Foster open communication and show them that you’re non-judgmental and can be their safe space.