Digital Citizenship Tips for Teens
For teens, we offer five simple rules of digital citizenship to help them create a world they can be proud of -- and inspire others to do the same.
Think before you post or text -- a bad reputation could be just a click away. Before you press the "send" button, imagine the last person in the world that you’d want seeing what you post.
What goes around comes around. If you want your privacy respected, respect others' privacy. Posting an embarrassing photo or forwarding a friend’s private text without asking can cause unintended hurt or damage to others.
Spread heart, not hurt. If you wouldn’t say it in person, don’t say it online. Stand up for those who are bullied or harassed, and let them know that you’re there for them.
Give and get credit. We’re all proud of what we create. Illegal downloading, digital cheating, and cutting and pasting other people’s stuff may be easy, but that doesn’t make it right. You have the responsibility to respect other people’s creative work -- and the right to have your own work respected.
Make this a world you want to live in. Spread the good stuff. Create, share, tag, comment, and contribute to the online world in positive ways.
I really liked the last comment by the writer. His kids are the same age as mine and I am thankful that mine were older before they had access to Facebook. But just the same we as educators need to know the good and the bad so we can help our students and their parents become better cyber citizens
