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Preston Tu

Mr. Martin

AP Eng/Lang Comp

1 November, 2021

LegiSchool Essay

The internet is a place where anyone can find information, entertainment, or express their

feelings on the media but along with these social benefits comes many adversaries. With the

wide use of technological and online devices, kids are getting mentally hurt due to the cause of

online threats such as cyberbullying, hacks, and viruses that steal and leak private information.

As a person who has grown up using technology all their life and has witnessed mistakes made

online, there have been many instances where people did not think first before posting a picture

or comment which would lead to these online threats. Digital citizenship is the education and

responsibility of using the internet which should be taught all around the world to prevent these

problems for the safety of up and coming kids. As kids are being more exposed to this continuing

growth of technology and the digital world, digital citizenship is important to protect students

and their private information online as well as the safe use of online information and resources

by teaching cyberbully prevention, online safety, and digital literacy.

Cyberbullying is the act of bullying a person through communications online. With the

large popularity of social media and games, kids are able to talk and interact with other people

online. When doing so, cyberbullying can occur as people have conflicts with one another. For

example, someone can be cyberbullied after posting a picture on social media from people trying

to degrade them or make fun of them. To prevent cyberbullying, digital citizenship should be
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taught all around the world to educate students to be respectful online, when to notify an adult, or

when to step away from the technological device. According to an article about digital

citizenship and cyberbullying, an official website of the U.S. government, states "Among U.S.

teens that use social media, 88% witness mean or cruel behavior, 67% observe others joining in

those negative behaviors, and 21% admit to joining in at least once in a while” (U.S. Department

of Health and Human Services, 2018). Since a large percent of kids join in on cyberbullying,

parents should take action and help their children. Parents can monitor their children’s actions on

social media and games through a variety of methods such as having access to all their social

media accounts or activate privacy settings on their accounts. Cyberbullying has been a serious

internet issue and still proves to be today, however can be reduced through the education of

digital citizenship.

To prevent things like life threatening viruses or leaked information, online safety is

important to learn. Online safety means being safe when online or on the internet. As online

safety is an essential part of digital citizenship, learning to be safe when online will help students

make the right choices when using the internet as well as what will and will not benefit them.

With the popularity of technology and online devices rising by the day, it is recorded by the

American Community Survey (ACS) that 88 percent of 3-to 18-year-olds have home internet

access through a computer, and 6 percent of home internet access on a smartphone. This proves

that if digital safety is not taught around the world, many kids are at risk of dangers when on the

internet.

Digital literacy is the skill to clearly find, communicate, and navigate information

through the internet. Digital literacy not only benefits students by educating them about the
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understanding of navigating through the internet but it also protects students from harmful or

illegal content. Knowing how to safely navigate through the internet is important but digital

literacy also opens up a variety of aspects that students should also learn.. For example, digital

literacy teaches students online communication, the smart use of information and content, as well

as knowledge on other technological devices. Having students learn these digital literacy skills

will benefit the future and also younger students to come. Students will know how to

independently look for information or communicate with others through the internet.

As our world is more technologized than ever, digital citizenship is important and should

be taught all around the world as it teaches students about cyberbullying, online safety, and

digital literacy. With digital citizenship, students will learn about the different aspects of safe and

academic knowledge of the internet which will not only help future generations but also prevent

them from online threats and dangers.

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Works Cited

Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA). “Digital Citizenship Skills.” StopBullying.gov, 5

Dec. 2019, https://www.stopbullying.gov/resources/research-resources/digital-citizenship-skills.

Coe - Children's internet access at home. (n.d.). Retrieved November 13, 2021, from

https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cch.