THE INTERNET NEVER FORGETS
Just over a half-century ago, taking a walk down the street meant strolling through a singular reality, in which everyone you passed had one life and one life only. There were no Youtubers, no maddeningly-infinite Farmville requests, no instantly-streamed movies–-and the only tweeting there was to be done was fulfilled expertly by the birds. Essentially, it was a world without the Internet, where opportunities to masquerade under a fake name and say whatever you wished were usually reserved for spy films. Fortunately—-or, perhaps, unfortunately; that particular judgment call is yours to make—-such a world no longer exists. Instead we have been immersed, quite decidedly, by the age of technology and its distinctive challenges. The solution to these challenges lies in our conduct: as today’s average citizen exists in two realms—-the real one and the digital one—-citizenship itself must also exist in two realms.
Citizenship in the real world is relatively uncomplicated. Obey the traffic laws, recycle, clean up after your dog-—they’re the well-known, often-lackluster chores of humanity. However, the digital world and its heightened form of reality bring an entirely new set of stakes to the table: this new realm conceived by the Internet demands that citizenship itself be recreated. We changed the game, so we must now change the rules to match. After all, everyone who uses the Internet is a citizen of the digital world; with a bit of cleverness, a few lightly-applied morals, and a fair amount of the restraint and caution defined as “digital citizenship”, we may yet make the Internet into a masterfully-crafted little universe. However, digital citizenship can seem like a rather ambiguous concept, especially considering the vastly diverse levels of entanglement we each have with the Internet. For each way to use the digital world there is a different code of conduct. Although the responsibility of learning these specific parameters lies with the user, there is still a universal standard of digital citizenship which applies to the Internet at large. Below you will find the specifics of this “universal standard”, set up as they might be if the Internet required individuals to become citizens before usage (which would be an interesting concept, albeit one for a different composition).
Citizenship in the real world is relatively uncomplicated. Obey the traffic laws, recycle, clean up after your dog-—they’re the well-known, often-lackluster chores of humanity. However, the digital world and its heightened form of reality bring an entirely new set of stakes to the table: this new realm conceived by the Internet demands that citizenship itself be recreated. We changed the game, so we must now change the rules to match. After all, everyone who uses the Internet is a citizen of the digital world; with a bit of cleverness, a few lightly-applied morals, and a fair amount of the restraint and caution defined as “digital citizenship”, we may yet make the Internet into a masterfully-crafted little universe. However, digital citizenship can seem like a rather ambiguous concept, especially considering the vastly diverse levels of entanglement we each have with the Internet. For each way to use the digital world there is a different code of conduct. Although the responsibility of learning these specific parameters lies with the user, there is still a universal standard of digital citizenship which applies to the Internet at large. Below you will find the specifics of this “universal standard”, set up as they might be if the Internet required individuals to become citizens before usage (which would be an interesting concept, albeit one for a different composition).
Such guidelines are, of course, only the bones of digital citizenship. It is up to each individual to put on the muscle and tendons and skin—-whatever those may be, depending on how each of us chooses to use the Internet. For example, to be a responsible digital citizen, I will protect my own privacy; be aware of what tools and applications I use, and not use any that seem illegitimate or untrustworthy; be responsible with my use of social media; and, finally, leave a positive “Internet trail”—-by adding to the effectiveness of the Internet, the search results and the trustworthy websites, rather than by adding to the adversity of the Internet…of which there is plenty without me.
So whether you use the web only for the benefits of email or you have decided to put your digital citizenship toward your training as a level 85 warlock, remember that the Internet is quite like an elephant:
So whether you use the web only for the benefits of email or you have decided to put your digital citizenship toward your training as a level 85 warlock, remember that the Internet is quite like an elephant:
Sources:
Xin Zhang. “Be a Digital Citizen.” Youtube. February 4, 2015. January 11, 2012. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdEXijFXfD8>
Xin Zhang. “Be a Digital Citizen.” Youtube. February 4, 2015. January 11, 2012. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdEXijFXfD8>