The documentary by Kidrom (2014) and reading through Ribble (2015) as well as Boyd (2014) has definitely sparked a new curiosity around the digital online world and our relationship with it as well as our perceptions of it and of others who interact with it. The digital world is impossible to avoid and so globally connected to the point that I cannot wrap my head around it. The term digital is not new for me and I am familiar with it and comfortable thinking about our relationship with media and the online world. What is interesting to me is adding the element of citizenship and what that translates to. I personally feel the word citizenship is not used often enough for individuals to act and reflect on behaviour in society (and by society, I mean offline society) and are not overly educated on what it means to be a good citizen. Now taking that term to the online world, it opens up a whole other level of thinking.
The 9 elements of digital citizenship include access, digital commerce, digital communication, digital literacy, digital etiquette, digital law, digital rights and responsibilities, digital health and wellness and digital security. When I read those out and think about my interactions with the digital world, I am skeptical that my current interactions and platforms I promote are following these standards and I am very aware of this however I am of the mindset that as an individual I make choices and have a responsibility to the choices I make online. Let me elaborate. With a little bit of education, which I believe is necessary in schools nowadays on how to identify “red flags” , I do think that navigating the online world and finding balance with it and the devices we use to access is manageable. The world is at our fingertips online so I don’t think backing away from it is productive, just learning how to navigate it accurately. If we can create an awareness around the global digital world and become familiar, there is no need to be afraid of it, I believe it is incredibly useful, but balance is important and setting your own limitations on what you put online is in my opinion entirely up to the individual itself and no one else can be blamed for that. Digital Citizenship is a new term for me, but one that I think is important for all digital users as it’s our new normal.
The final aspect I wanted to touch on was our relationships with the digital world and our perceptions with both the online world and those who interact with it. The online world and our relationship with our digital products as seen in the documentary by Kidrom, can be a harsh reality. Youth are addicted to devices, to watching pornography, to chatting with strangers online, or “living their best lives” through a video game and so on and so forth. Witnessing these sorts of lifestyles in challenging as I believe it removes a lot of what makes us human and what allows us to connect in a one on one in person a way. On the other hand, I feel that often we create perceptions that strangers online are dangerous, and pornography is bad and video games are a waste of time, when this is also not the case. Many of these things can be educational, used as stress relief and let’s be honest not everyone interacting online is a serial killer, which was the perception ingrained in my brain from age 7 when first learning about the internet. We as a society have created these altered perceptions of the digital world, and yes some might have validity to them but all in all, is not fully accurate. I do think globally we need a shift in awareness and a movement toward balance of both digital and non-digital interactions.
As I move into learning more about digital citizenship and my relationship with my devices and my online interactions i’m open-minded about its realities and believe that balance can be achieved to utilize the digital world when needed but also not have it completely run my life.