3 Chapter 3: Understanding Digital Citizenship
Jennifer Peters; Agnieszka Gorgon; Carmen Gelette; and Alana Otis
Overview
Freedom of speech, digital addiction, cyberbullying, and privacy violations are all issues we may face on a daily basis. Could your review turn into a defamation suit? Are your apps spying on you? Are your devices affecting your health and wellness? Do you know what it takes to conduct yourself in a safe and respectful way in your online world? Find answers to these questions along with others in this chapter.
Chapter Topics
- Introduction
- Social Media
- Privacy
- Security
- Defamation
- Harassment
- Health and Wellness
Learning Objectives
After completing this chapter, you should be able to:
- Identify the benefits and risks related to conducting online transactions.
- Select the appropriate tools, language, and behaviour to conduct positive online interaction and to avoid breaking federal and provincial laws.
- Recognize behaviours to protect and promote your online identity and so you don’t compromise anyone else’s online identity or presence.
- Predict the mental and physical consequences of overusing digital and online devices and services. Analyze your own use, recognize any negative patterns, and develop healthy online and digital habits.
- Demonstrate ways to maintain privacy and security online.
Introduction
In this chapter, we will look at some considerations you should make when using social media, and the impact social media use can have on relationships and job searching. We will review how to protect your online privacy, including security threats from spam, phishing, malware, and hacking, as well as looking at the tracking capabilities of different apps and websites. Our behaviour online can have serious real-world consequences, and so this chapter will provide you with an introduction to defamation, slander, and libel, as well as with ways to identify online harassment, including cyberbullying, and what you can do if you are a victim. Finally, we will look at how you can examine your own digital habits in order to improve your physical and mental health.
Social Media
Social media is defined as a group of online communities where people communicate and share information and content. Popular examples of social media sites include Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and WhatsApp. According to a recent Angus Reid poll about 98% of Canadians between the ages of eighteen and thirty-four use social media at least occasionally (Angus Reid Institute, 2016).
We will review some considerations you should make when using social media for personal, educational, and professional use.
Your Digital Footprint
The information you share online can last a long time and may be seen by thousands of people all around the world.
The video below is a TEDx Talk in which the presenter delivers a spoken-word piece titled “Digital Footprints.” The piece reflects on responsible use of social media and how decisions we make about the co