Computers in the Schools

Interdisciplinary Journal of Practice, Theory, and Applied Research

ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wcis20

Middle School Student Perception of Technology

Use and Digital Citizenship Practices

Florence Martin , Brittany Hunt , Chuang Wang & Elliot Brooks

To cite this article: Florence Martin , Brittany Hunt , Chuang Wang & Elliot Brooks (2020): Middle
School Student Perception of Technology Use and Digital Citizenship Practices, Computers in the
Schools, DOI: 10.1080/07380569.2020.1795500

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/07380569.2020.1795500

Published online: 04 Aug 2020.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 16

View related articles

View Crossmark data

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=wcis20
COMPUTERS IN THE SCHOOLS
https://doi.org/10.1080/07380569.2020.1795500

BACK MATTER

Middle School Student Perception of Technology Use

and Digital Citizenship Practices
Florence Martin , Brittany Hunt, Chuang Wang, and Elliot Brooks
University of North Carolina Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
Digital citizenship is defined as using knowledge and skills to Middle school students;
exhibit appropriate behavior online using digital technology. digital citizenship;
Two hundred and thirty-seven middle school students were technology use;
digital habits
surveyed about digital device use and perception of digital
citizenship practices on cyberbullying, digital netiquette,
digital footprint, digital privacy, and digital identity. Findings
indicated that student use of mobile devices has increased,
which has established the need for parental monitoring of the
online behavior of their children. Only 55.3% of the surveyed
students indicated parental monitoring of their internet/social
media use, and only 37.1% of the students identified digital
citizenship as being taught in their schools. Seventy-three per-
cent of the students indicated having never been cyberbullied,
and only 55.7% indicated knowing how to collect proof if
they suspect cyberbullying has occurred. Fifty-seven percent
of the students cited following digital netiquette when com-
municating or posting online, 59.7% of the students have
shared their password with a friend, and 48.5% have added a
friend and followed someone they did not know. Middle
school students lack an understanding of digital citizenship
practices, which has implications for teachers, administrators,
and parents on teaching digital citizenship at school
and home.

As students increasingly use technology and engage in cyberlearning at

young ages, there is an increased concern about their online behavior.
Ribble (2015) defined digital citizens as those who exhibit “the norms of
appropriate, responsible behavior with regards to technology use” (p. 1).
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE, 2019) stated
that digital citizenship is an important aspect of educational technology.
Jones and Mitchell (2016) described digital citizenship as practicing respect
and increasing civic engagement using internet resources. Ohler (2011)
described digital citizenship as character education for the digital age.
Building on these definitions, the authors of this study define digital

CONTACT Florence Martin Florence.Martin@uncc.edu University of North Carolina Charlotte, University

City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA.
ß 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
2 F. MARTIN ET AL.

citizenship as using knowledge and skills to exhibit appropriate behavior

online when using digital technology. Hollandsworth, Dowdy, and
Donovan (2011) found that a lack of digital citizenship awareness and edu-
cation can lead to dangerous student conduct. Some of the recommended
guidelines for media specialists to support digital citizenship awareness
include setting appropriate policies and digital practices in grades K-12,
educating all stakeholders involved, and evaluating digital citizen-
ship curricula.
Research studies on digital citizenship have focused on undergraduate stu-
dents (Isman & Canan Gungoren, 2014) and teachers (Cristol & Gimbert,
2018; Pusey & Sadera, 2012; Xu, Yang, MacLeod, & Zhu, 2019). There is
limited research on digital citizenship focusing on K-12 students (Gleason &
Von Gillern, 2018; Jones & Mitchell, 2016). Jones and Mitchell (2016) exam-
ined the online respect and online civic engagement of youth aged 11 to
17 years. They found that online respect scores decreased with an increase in
age and that girls scored higher in digital citizenship compared to boys.
Gleason and Von Gillern (2018) reported that online activity is increasing in
youth, with the average student reporting six hours online per day in add-
ition to homework or instructional time. Digital citizenship is not widely
taught in public schools, leaving youth to develop online literacy skills on
their own time (Gleason & Von Gillern, 2018). Middle school students are
particularly vulnerable to this lack of education, performing more poorly
than high school students on web search behavior tests (Wu & Cai, 2016).
Martin, Wang, Petty, Wang, and Wilkins (2018) reported that 17% of
students began using social media at nine years or younger. They also
noted that 40% accepted friend requests from people they did not know,
and 40% claimed their parents did not monitor their social media use.
Dowell, Burgess, and Cavanaugh, Barbour, and Clark (2009) found that
middle school students were showing the beginnings of high-risk internet
behavior. Such riskiness could be harmful to the students, and parents
should develop competencies to monitor their children’s online behavior.
Though parental knowledge and monitoring of adolescent activity have
been identified as essential, research shows that parents often lack aware-
ness of their children’s online behavior (Symons, Ponnet, Emmery,
Walrave, & Heirman, 2017). Technology availability, increased student
presence online and on social media, and lack of digital citizenship aware-
ness has created a need to examine students’ digital citizenship practices.

Digital citizenship elements

Digital citizenship is defined in this study as using knowledge and skills to
exhibit appropriate behavior online when using digital technology.
 COMPUTERS IN THE SCHOOLS 3

Cyberbullying, digital footprint, digital privacy, digital netiquette, and

digital identity are elements of digital citizenship that are examined in this
study. These five elements specifically focused on online behavior.

Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place over digital devices such as cell
phones, computers, and tablets. With the increase in the use of technology
and the popularity of social media and other forms of online communica-
tion on the rise, cyberbullying is increasingly a concern, particularly for
middle school students. Though many schools offer some perfunctory les-
sons on cyberbullying, most students only develop a surface-level under-
standing of the issue, making them less likely to intervene or act when they
witness or experience it (Chapin, 2016). In addition, while those affected by
cyberbullying are most likely to indicate that they understand why a person
would cyberbully another and the psychological harm it can cause,
unaffected students do not, giving schools a great opportunity to bridge the
gap and prevent further incidents through cyberbullying education (Seo,
Tunningley, Warner, & Buening, 2016). Predictors of this behavior include
exposure to violence, low social support, aggression, feelings of anonymity,
and negative experiences with teachers (Kwak & Oh, 2017; McInroy &
Mishna, 2017; Pabian & Vandebosch, 2016). Cyberbullies also often ration-
alize their behavior as revenge for some perceived or actual wrong commit-
ted by their victims (Fluck, 2017).
Knowledge of these vulnerabilities can enable schools to craft cyberbully-
ing lessons that are targeted both to those prone to perpetrate and to be
victimized. In addition, schools can prepare students to intervene when
they observe cyberbullying. Allison and Bussey (2017) indicated that the
higher a student’s individual sense of morality, the more likely they are to
intervene, but that group levels of moral disengagement can moderate this
effect. In addition, students are more likely to intervene if fewer bystanders
are present (Song & Oh, 2018). According to Matos, Vieira, Amado,
Pessoa, and Martin (2018), girls are more likely to be victims and often
talk to a trusted friend and not an adult as a coping mechanism. Educators
have a unique responsibility to develop cyberbullying interventions that are
responsive to existing literature and tailored to their student population.

Digital footprint
A digital footprint is a trail of data one creates while using the internet.
With the increase in device use in schools and the apps that are being
downloaded and websites that students are accessing, it is easy for students
4 F. MARTIN ET AL.

to leave a digital footprint. As youth continue to express a desire to show-

case their lives online, concern over digital footprints is on the rise
(Camacho, Minelli, & Grosseck, 2012). Educators and parents are subse-
quently tasked with helping students synthesize their need for self-expression
with maintaining appropriate online behavior. When middle school students
googled their names, their social media information often came up in the
results (Miller, 2016). Students need to understand that each time they “like”
a picture or a status, click a link, visit a webpage, or post anything online,
the information is tracked and comprises their digital footprint (Kuehn,
2010). Students should also be taught about passive digital footprints, which
includes all the information posted about them online by others, including
pictures, videos, statuses, or articles (Kuehn, 2010). Students must be taught
to navigate both sets of footprints and to consciously and critically assess the
digital narrative of themselves that is available online and the academic, pro-
fessional, and social implications of their digital footprint.

Digital privacy
Digital privacy refers to the privacy of the digital information shared.
Digital privacy is necessary as our world continues to modernize and
become more technology driven. Though middle school students are typic-
ally adept at using social media and various other online mediums, their
digital privacy competency is typically underdeveloped as they exist in a
generation that emphasizes sharing information online. With more youth
utilizing the web, safeguards need to be put in place to protect them
(Berson & Berson, 2006). In addition, youth need preparation to navigate
through the various online marketing strategies that target them specifically
(Montgomery, Chester, & Milosevic, 2017).
In creating interventions to develop digital privacy in youth, those labeled
at risk should not be excluded (Cranmer, 2013). According to this author,
low socioeconomic and marginalized youth are often left out of the narrative
of online safety since it is underdeveloped and rudimentary. Educators
should, therefore, be mindful of this population when crafting digital privacy
lessons. Efforts to educate youth on this critical issue should be collaborative
by synthesizing parent, teacher, and school cooperation (Berson & Berson,
2006; Smith & Mader, 2016; Van Ouytsel, Walrave, & Ponnet, 2014).

Digital netiquette
Digital netiquette refers to formal or informal rules of courtesy and polite-
ness that define appropriate online communication. These rules include
provisions like avoiding writing insulting comments on someone’s social
 COMPUTERS IN THE SCHOOLS 5

media site and using exclamation points in moderation (Kryder, 2013).

Successful online instructors describe rules for netiquette in their online
courses (Savery, 2005) and many online schools are establishing policies for
online netiquette (Cavanaugh et al., 2009). Lenhart et al. (2011) reported
that 69% of teens state that they are usually polite to one another while
using social media; however, 88% of them report seeing others making
mean comments on social media. Beyond manners, netiquette is linked
with reducing instances of both traditional bullying and cyberbullying in
schools (Kumazaki, Suzuki, Sakamoto, & Kashibuchi, 2011; Park, Na, &
Kim, 2014). As students become more adept at technology use, a greater
focus should be placed on developing their online etiquette skills as both a
professional and preventative measure.

Digital identity
Digital identity refers to how one perceives oneself and how others perceive
the person based on the person’s online activity. Compton-Lilly (2006)
describes identity as how “we view ourselves and represent our knowledge,
experiences, and social connections” (p. 400). A person’s digital footprint
often forges their digital identity. Wise and O’Byrne (2015) recommend
three different classifications of identity construction, which include
embracing similar identities, establishing separate identities, or resisting
creating an online identity. Costa and Torres (2011) identify digital identity
maintenance as a critical issue in digital citizenship and call upon educators
to teach students this skill while also setting a good example through their
own online behavior. Camacho et al. (2012) found that students post, like,
and share because they care about others’ perceptions of their digital selves.
More work should be done to make students aware of how their online
activity creates their digital identity so they can maintain congruent identi-
ties and not impede future professional or academic opportunities.

Purpose of this study

The purpose of this study is to identify middle school students’ perceptions
of digital citizenship elements that focus on online behavior. Middle school
students are often given mobile devices by their parents and have the free-
dom to access online content on their own with less parental monitoring
and hence were chosen to be the subjects of this study. The following
research questions were examined:

1. What digital devices are being used by middle school students at home,
and what activities do the students participate in?
6 F. MARTIN ET AL.

2. What are middle school students’ perceptions of digital citizenship prac-

tices (cyberbullying, digital netiquette, digital footprint, digital privacy,
and digital identity)?
3. How do gender, grade level, and digital citizenship being taught associ-
ate with middle school students’ perception of digital citizenship?

Methods
Survey
A survey was used as a needs assessment to identify digital citizenship
practices. Expert reviews were conducted for content and face validity
during the creation of the survey. Four experts in technology integration
and online learning provided reviews. The experts were asked to respond
to both the individual items and where the item fit within given catego-
ries. The feedback from the experts was used to update the wording of
the survey, and they agreed on the fit of the items within the categories.
Institutional review board approval was received for this project.
The survey was administered online using a Google form in one rural
school district in the Southeastern United States. The Google form was posted
on school websites, and students were asked by their teachers to complete the
survey. Students were first asked to answer various demographic measures,
including age (10-16), gender (male or female), school, and grade level (sixth,
seventh, or eighth). The questions following were arranged into six sections:
digital habits, cyberbullying, digital netiquette, digital footprint, digital privacy,
and digital identity (Table 2). While digital habits were an overview category,
the remaining five were digital citizenship components. Students were asked
to answer “yes,” “no,” or “I’m not sure” for these questions.

Digital habits questions assessed whether they learned about digital citi-
zenship at school, device use, internet access, activities they did at
home, and parental monitoring.

Cyberbullying questions assessed students’ experience with behavior.

Digital netiquette questions assessed students’ online etiquette.

Digital footprint questions assessed whether students re-shared someone
else’s post or someone else ever re-shared their posts.

Digital privacy questions assessed students’ beliefs about personal infor-
mation sharing online.

Digital identity questions assessed students’ beliefs in the synchronicity
of their online selves with their real selves.

After the survey, students were given the opportunity to provide any
additional comments. From this administration, the internal consistency,
 COMPUTERS IN THE SCHOOLS 7

measured by Cronbach’s alpha, for all items on the survey was satisfac-
tory (.84).

Participants
Two hundred thirty-seven middle school students from middle schools in
one school district in the Southeast region of the United States responded
to this online survey. The school district consists of four traditional middle
schools located in a rural area and has approximately 1,800 middle school
students. Approximately 46% of middle school students qualify for free or
reduced lunch. The demographics of the school district are 72% Caucasian,
12% African American, 10% Hispanic, 4% Asian, and 2% other. The aver-
age age of student participants was 11.84 years. The sample was majority
female at 53.6%, with males at 46.4%. Most students were in sixth grade
(80.6%), with seventh and eighth graders at 9.7% each.

Data analytical procedures

Descriptive statistics were used to answer the research questions. Frequency
count was used to describe the digital devices used by the students at
home. Student perception of digital citizenship was described with the per-
centage of positive and negative responses to each item used to measure
digital citizenship. Chi-square tests of independence were employed to
examine the relationships between students’ background and their percep-
tion of digital citizenship.

Results
Middle school student device use at home
For the survey item, most used electronic device at home, most students
indicated using a smartphone (59.9%), followed by a laptop (11.8%), and a
tablet (11.0%). Detailed information of student at-home device use is
shown in Table 1.
Nearly every student indicated having internet access at home, at 94.9%.
However, only 55.3% of the students indicated parental monitoring of their
internet/social media use, with 27.8% indicating no parental monitoring.
Only 37.1% of students identified digital citizenship as being taught in
their schools.
Gender and grade-level differences were analyzed for home device use
and digital habits. Gender differences in response patterns were observed
in in-home device use, x2(df ¼ 5)¼19.32, p¼.002. Girls were more likely
than boys to use smartphones at home, at 70% and 54%, respectively, while
8 F. MARTIN ET AL.

Table 1. Most frequently used device by student at home.

Frequency Percentage
Smartphone 142 59.9
Laptop 28 11.8
Tablet 26 11
Gaming system 15 6.3
Desktop 10 4.2
I don’t use any device at home 7 3
iPod 6 2.5
Watch TV 2 0.8
Computer 1 0.4
Total 237 100

boys were more likely to use gaming systems than girls, at 13% and 0.81%,
respectively. No gender differences in response patterns were observed in
being taught digital citizenship at school (p>.05), internet access at home
(p>.05), time spent online outside of school (p>.05), or parental monitor-
ing of online activity (p>.05).
Grade level differences in response patterns were observed in being
taught digital citizenship in school, x2(df ¼ 2)¼20.08, p<.001. Significantly
more sixth graders reported being taught digital citizenship than seventh
and eighth graders, at 79.8%, 14.3%, and 40.0%, respectively. No grade-level
differences in device use (p>.05), internet access (p>.05), time spent online
outside of school (p>.05), or parental monitoring (p>.05) were observed.
Middle school students reported a variety of online activities. The ques-
tion on online activities outside of school required students to select all
online activities they engaged in outside of school. This means each
respondent could have replied with multiple activities.
Some of the students (28.3%) stated they use social media when at home.
Social media was defined as using any site that allows one to post informa-
tion and digitally connect with other users. Other students (30.5%) played
some form of online game when they were at home. There was no distinc-
tion made between games played on a computer, smartphone, or gaming
system. A few other students stated they listened to music (18.8%) and
change watched videos (11.5%), respectively. Only 9.7% of students stated
they completed schoolwork during their online activities at home. Overall,
most of the activities centered around entertainment and social events.

Middle school student digital citizenship practices

Descriptive statistics were used to report the percentage of positive and
negative responses to each survey item about student perceptions of digital
citizenship (Table 2).
 COMPUTERS IN THE SCHOOLS 9

Table 2. Student perceptions of digital citizenship.

Yes (%) No (%) Not Sure (%)
Digital Habits
Are you taught digital citizenship at school? 37.1 13.9 49
Do you have access to the internet at home? 94.9 5.1 0
Do your parents typically monitor what you do 55.3 27.8 16.9
online when you’re at home?
Cyberbullying
Based on the definition above, have you ever been 16.9 73.0 10.1
cyberbullied?
Do you know anybody that has been cyberbullied? 43.0 43.9 13.1
Do you know how to collect proof if you suspect 55.7 27.0 17.3
cyberbullying has occurred?
Digital Netiquette
Based on the definition above, do you typically 57.0 11.4 31.6
follow digital netiquette when communicating/
posting online?
Have you ever posted or said something online that 15.6 67.9 16.5
could be seen as rude, mean, or unfair to others
of a different race or gender?
Have you ever posted a message or reply in 62.9 24.9 12.2
ALL CAPS?
Have you ever posted a picture online without the 21.1 65.8 13.1
person’s permission?
Have you ever liked or shared a mean comment 10.1 75.9 14
or post?
Digital Footprint
Have you ever re-shared someone else’s post? 42.2 42.2 15.6
Has someone ever re-shared one of your posts? 40.9 27.8 31.3
Digital Privacy
Do you make sure your passwords for your online 89.0 3.4 7.6
accounts are safe?
Do you edit your security settings for your 56.5 20.7 22.8
online accounts?
Have you ever shared your password with a friend? 36.3 59.5 4.2
Do you share information with people online that 7.2 75.9 16.9
you may not know?
Have you ever added a friend or allowed someone 48.5 37.6 13.9
to follow you that you did not know?
Have you ever friended or followed someone you 48.5 36.7 14.8
didn’t know?
Digital Identity
Do you think a person’s online identity can be 86.9 2.5 10.6
different from their face-to-face identity?

Cyberbullying
Most students (73.0%) indicated never having been cyberbullied, with
16.9% having been victims. Significantly more students cited knowing a
cyberbullying victim, at 43.0%, with 43.9% knowing no victims. Most stu-
dents demonstrated belief in their ability to collect proof if they were to
witness cyberbullying, at 55.7%, with 27.0% indicating a lack of ability.
No significant differences were observed based on gender, grade level, or
if students were being taught digital citizenship and in reporting being
cyberbullying victims, knowing someone who has been cyberbullied, or
knowing how to collect proof if suspected cyberbullying has
occurred (p>.05).
10 F. MARTIN ET AL.

Digital netiquette
Most students cited following digital netiquette when communicating or
posting online, at 57.0%, with 11.4% acknowledging a lack of digital neti-
quette use. Students also acknowledged specific behaviors that deviate from
these standards, with 62.9% indicating incidents of using all caps when
posting a message or reply, 21.1% posting a picture of someone without
permission, 15.6% posting something that could be seen as rude, mean, or
unfair based on gender or race, and 10.1% liking or sharing a mean com-
ment or post.
Grade level differences were observed in students’ reports of posting or
replying in all caps online, x2(df ¼ 6)¼15.39, p¼.02. Of those that reported
using all caps when posting or replying online, 57.1% were sixth graders,
82.6% were seventh graders, and 91.3% were eighth graders. No grade level
differences were observed in students’ reports of following digital netiquette
when communicating or posting online, posting rude, mean, or unfair
comments to those of different races or genders, posting a picture online
without the person’s consent, or liking or sharing a mean comment or
post (p>.05).
No significant differences were found based on gender or if students
were being taught digital citizenship and in students’ reports of following
digital netiquette when communicating or posting online, posting rude,
mean, or unfair comments to those of different races or genders, posting
or replying in all caps, posting a picture online without the person’s con-
sent, or liking or sharing a mean comment or post (p>.05).

Digital footprint
Students also indicated their experiences with sharing posts online, with
42.2% having shared and 42.2% having abstained from sharing.
Additionally, 40.9% of students indicated having their own posts shared by
someone else, with 27.8% never having their posts shared.
No significant differences were found based on gender, grade level, or if
students were being taught digital citizenship and in students’ reports of
having re-shared someone’s post or having their own post re-
shared (p > .05).

Digital privacy
Students generally indicated practicing safe online privacy behaviors.
Eighty-nine percent indicated creating safe online passwords, 75.9% indi-
cated never sharing information online with strangers, 59.5% of students
indicated never sharing a password with friends, and 56.5% of students
 COMPUTERS IN THE SCHOOLS 11

indicated editing their security settings on their online accounts. However,

48.5% of students indicated both adding people they did not know as a
friend and allowing people they did not know to follow them.
Gender differences were observed in students’ reports of making their
passwords safe, x2(df ¼ 2)¼7.94, p¼.02, with significantly more males
(6.8%) reporting no than females (0.8%). Gender differences were also
observed in students’ reports of sharing passwords with friends, x2(df ¼ 2)
¼10.50, p¼.01, with significantly more females (45.7%) reporting sharing
than males (25.5%). No gender differences were observed in students’
reports of editing their security settings on their online accounts, sharing
information with people online that they may not know, adding a friend or
allowing someone to follow them who they did not know, or friending or
following someone they did not know (p>.05).
No significant differences were found based on grade level or if students
were being taught digital citizenship and in students’ reports of making
their passwords safe, editing security settings for their online accounts,
sharing passwords with friends, sharing information with people online
that they may not know, adding a friend or allowing someone to follow
them who they didn’t know, or friending or following someone they didn’t
know (p>.05).

Digital identity
Most students (86.9%) indicated a belief that a person’s online identity can
be different from their face-to-face identity. No significant differences were
found based on gender, grade level or if students were being taught digital
citizenship and in students’ belief that a person’s online identity can be dif-
ferent than their face-to-face identity.

Discussion
Smartphone the most used technology at home
About 60% of the middle school students in this study used a smartphone
at home. The use of laptops and tablets was 11%, which was much less
compared to smartphone use. This suggests that students are beginning to
use smartphones more than laptops and tablets at home. Haug et al. (2015)
reported a smartphone addiction in adolescents (15–16 years) in
Switzerland. Jeong, Kim, Yum, and Hwang (2016) found that elementary
school students in South Korea were more likely to become addicted to
smartphones when they uses them for social networking sites, games, and
entertainment in comparison with those who used them for study-related
12 F. MARTIN ET AL.

purposes. One of the reasons for high smartphone use could be for more
social activity (Tsetsi & Rains, 2017).
Gender differences were observed in this study based on home device
use. Girls reported using smartphones more than boys, similar to Tang and
Patrick’s (2018) report of girls using interactive social media more than
boys. Boys used gaming systems more than girls, which was also consistent
with Tang and Patrick’s (2018) study.

Need for more parental monitoring

Nearly all (94.9%) middle school students reported having internet access
at home. This is an increase compared to 41% of households with internet
access in the United States in 2000 (Newburger, 2001). While this reduces
the digital divide, it could also lead to increased online social activity and
increase the need for parental monitoring of internet use. Only 55.3% of
students indicated parental monitoring of their internet/social media use.
Though half of the students indicated parental monitoring of their online
activity, over a quarter of students reported no monitoring at all. While
there is an increase in parental monitoring compared to the Symons et al.
(2017) finding that most parents have little knowledge of their adolescent’s
online activity, the number of students engaging in unrestricted online
activity remains worrisome. Khurana, Bleakley, Jordan, and Romer (2015)
found that parental monitoring can be a critical factor in protecting youth
from online altercations and may reduce the risk of online harassment.
They also found that parental monitoring is likely to be more effective in
younger and older teens. Vaala and Bleakley (2015) found that greater par-
ental monitoring of adolescents predicted less teen engagement in IM/chat,
social networking site use, video streaming, and multiplayer online games.
This shows the need for parents to be more involved in monitoring the
internet use of their children.

Need for digital citizenship in schools

Only 37.1% of students indicated receiving digital citizenship education in
their schools, similar to the research presented by Chapin (2016). A num-
ber of students (49%) were not sure if they were taught digital citizenship
at school. With Dowell, Burgess, and Cavanaugh (2009) reporting the
beginnings of high-risk behaviors in middle school students and with our
research yielding similar results, schools have an elevated responsibility to
teach students safe, polite, and responsible online behavior. Gleason and
Von Gillern (2018) identified in-school digital citizenship education as vital
 COMPUTERS IN THE SCHOOLS 13

to complement the out-of-school digital citizenship lessons they

are learning.
Overall, about 24% of students chose the “I’m not sure” category on the
20-question survey. This shows that about a quarter of the students did not
understand the meaning of some items on the survey. This could be due to
a lack of understanding of what is meant by digital citizenship, which
shows a need for students to be educated on such practices.

Cyberbullying
Although 73.0% of the participants reported never being a victim of cyber-
bullying, 43.9% of the students knew someone who had been cyberbullied,
and only 55.7% of the students knew how to collect proof if you suspect
cyberbullying has occurred. Though no gender, grade level, or formal
digital citizenship education differences were observed regarding cyberbul-
lying, a significant portion of students reported either having been cyber-
bullied or knowing someone who was cyberbullied. Seo et al. (2016)
indicated that students unaffected by cyberbullying are less likely to develop
competency around the issue. Comprehensive lessons on the subject should
be taught in schools to deepen students’ awareness and knowledge of the
issue (Chapin, 2016). Allison and Bussey (2017) complementarily reported
that students are more likely to intervene if they have a high sense of mor-
ality. Such research could indicate that cyberbullying lessons in schools
should not just be fact-based but should also appeal to students’ moral sen-
sibilities to increase their likelihood of reporting and intervention. About
half of the students indicated that they knew how to collect proof if cyber-
bullying has occurred, which demonstrates a need for more education on
how to collect proof if they suspect cyberbullying.

Digital netiquette
Digital netiquette is concerned with how to appropriately interact in an
online environment. These rules are unofficial and constantly evolve as
digital norms change. This is particularly important since digital netiquette
helps form our digital identity. If students want to be perceived positively,
they must learn to follow proper digital netiquette. Based on the survey
results, there is a disconnect between students’ perceptions of following
digital netiquette and their actions. Though only 15.6% of students have
posted or said something online that could be seen as rude, mean, or unfair
to others of a different race or gender and 10.1% had liked or shared a
mean comment or post, 31.6% of students mentioned that they were not
sure if they follow digital netiquette when communicating or posting
14 F. MARTIN ET AL.

online. This demonstrates a need for students to be educated on

digital netiquette.
In addition, 24.9% indicated that they had posted a message or replied in
all caps. Though most students indicated using netiquette when communi-
cating with others, a significant portion of participants reported using all
caps when posting a message, posting pictures of others without their con-
sent, posting mean gender- or race-based comments or liking mean com-
ments. With netiquette being linked with reducing instances of both
traditional bullying and cyberbullying (Kumazaki et al., 2011; Park et al.,
2014), education on this topic should be prioritized in schools.
Grade-level differences were also observed, with significantly more
eighth graders reporting using all caps when posting or replying online
than sixth graders. Since significantly more sixth graders report being
taught digital citizenship than their eighth-grade counterparts, older stu-
dents may lack the netiquette skills learned during these lessons. Digital
citizenship work should focus on teaching students the nuances of such
use, such as using all caps in a message to your best friend versus in an
email to your teacher.

Digital footprint
About half of the students (42.2%) had re-shared someone else’s posts,
and 27.8% had their posts re-shared. This shows that they may not be
aware that they are contributing to establishing someone’s digital foot-
print by sharing someone else’s posts and that their footprint can also be
affected when someone else shares their posts. Kuehn (2010) emphasized
the importance of students’ understanding the potential impacts of their
digital footprint. However, students’ beliefs on this topic were mixed,
with students having only a marginal knowledge of the possible effects of
their digital habits. Students’ responses do not indicate being fully con-
vinced of the permanence of online behavior. Digital citizenship lessons
in schools should be attuned and responsive to this, and lessons could
be developed that show the ease with which deleted information can be
retrieved as well as showcasing real cases of people impacted by their
online decisions.
Since no differences in being taught digital citizenship were observed in
students’ reports of belief that deleted information can be found or the
impacts of online activity on their future, this suggests the lack of impact
of current digital citizenship education on the participants. More work
should be done surrounding the content and efficaciousness of these les-
sons. Gender and grade level differences were also not observed, indicating
that this issue is critical irrespective of background.
 COMPUTERS IN THE SCHOOLS 15

Digital privacy
It is important for students to understand how to keep themselves and
their identity safe while in a digital environment. Based on the survey
results, students participate in risky behavior by communicating with
strangers online, but don’t understand the risks involved. While 89% of the
students reported making sure passwords for online accounts are safe,
36.3% share their passwords with their friends. This shows that students do
not realize that passwords are not safe when they are shared with friends.
About half of the students (48.5%) also friended someone that they did not
know and allowed someone to follow them they did not know. Though
56.5% of students indicated editing the security settings for their online
accounts, about 22% were not sure if they updated the security settings,
which demonstrates a need to educate students on how to edit security set-
tings. Though many students indicated practicing safe behaviors online,
many indicated risky behavior, consistent with Dowell et al. (2009).
Though they seem to ascribe value to digital privacy in accordance with
Davis and James (2013), many students lack the knowledge of the practices
that digital privacy comprises.
Gender differences were observed regarding password security, with
more girls reporting sharing their passwords with friends and making their
passwords safe. The incompatibility of these results indicates that girls may
have different views on digital privacy than boys and that digital citizenship
lessons should be tailored to these nuances. These results may align with
research that indicates that girls have higher intrinsic friendship motivation
and are more likely to seek assistance from others in social tasks than boys
(Ojanen, Stratman, Card, & Little, 2013). More education surrounding
digital privacy needs to be implemented in schools to enable youth to safe-
guard themselves and their information from both strangers and
friends online.

Digital identity
Digital identity is who we are while online. Students have an idea of who
they want to be while online but don’t always show this effectively.
Students need to know what makes up their digital identity so they can
make well-informed choices while online. Since a person’s digital identity is
shaped by their digital footprint and can have long-lasting effects, students
should be concerned about maintaining a positive digital identity. Like
Camacho et al. (2012) study, students in this sample indicated a disconnect
between their online and face-to-face personas. An overwhelming majority,
86.9%, of students indicated belief that a person’s online persona can differ
from their in-person self. Though this may be true, students should be
16 F. MARTIN ET AL.

reminded that potential employers or admission committees may rely solely

on their online image when rendering professional or academic decisions.
More work can be done in schools to train students on how to use their
accounts in ways that are dually beneficial, portraying themselves in a posi-
tive light while maximizing self-expression and authenticity. In the digital
age, training on all digital citizenship issues is critical. Students can learn to
practice kindness, safety, and restraint while expressing their individuality.
Schools are in a perfect position to teach this.

Conclusion
As students’ online activity has increased, so has the concern for students’
online behavior. This study confirms the prevalent use of smartphones at
home and the need for more parental monitoring, which demonstrates the
need for parents to be educated about monitoring their children’s internet
activities. With online media and social network use becoming more wide-
spread in our society, education should reflect this and respond accord-
ingly. Though digital citizenship education in the classroom may be on the
rise, more work needs to be done to prepare students to engage civilly,
responsibly, and competently online. The core concept behind digital citi-
zenship is the belief that all digital citizens should be positive contributors
to our digital world. This includes interacting positively online, abiding by
existing laws within the digital environment, and knowing how to best pro-
tect oneself in an online environment. Results from this study indicate that
middle school students lack understanding of cyberbullying and digital
netiquette, which supports Gleason and Von Gillern’s (2018) claim that
digital citizenship is not widely taught in public schools. The results from
this study also echo Wu and Cai’s (2016) conclusion that middle school
students are vulnerable due to their lack of education about digital
citizenship.

Implications and future research

This study has implications for parents who should be aware of the digital
citizenship practices of their middle school students, for teachers who can
provide instructions in the areas where students lack digital citizenship know-
ledge and skills, and for administrators who can lead efforts by implementing
digital citizenship curriculum in their schools. Finally, the study has implica-
tions for the students on their online practices and to help identify the areas
of growth regarding digital citizenship. Specifically, students need to be
trained on digital netiquette and privacy topics like what to share online and
not friending someone they do not know. Training on editing security
 COMPUTERS IN THE SCHOOLS 17

settings and not sharing passwords with someone else is also important. In
addition, training on how to collect evidence if cyberbullying has occurred is
important to teach middle school students.
Though this study adds to the research, more work should be done sur-
rounding the impacts of digital citizenship education on adolescent stu-
dents. Digital citizenship topics should be linked to in-class civics
education. Our responsibility as educators is to develop students into citi-
zens capable of successfully navigating life’s academic, professional, and
social terrains, both on and offline. Future studies should examine students’
online behavior rather than only examining student perceptions of their
behavior. Also, conducting interviews and focus groups will provide us
with more details of the middle school students’ online behavior.

Limitations
This study has several methodological limitations. The survey was self-
reported by middle school students, which includes a response bias. Also,
only a three-point scale with disagreement to agreement levels of “yes”,
“no”, or “I’m not sure” was used to make it easy on the students. While
this is helpful for middle school students, it does not offer variation in the
scores. The majority of the respondents were at the sixth-grade level with
only a few seventh- and eighth-grade students. Finally, this survey does not
include an exhaustive list of all the digital citizenship elements focusing on
online behavior as only five elements were examined.

Funding
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, SAT-C Award
Number: #1723746

ORCID
Florence Martin http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6055-5636

References
Allison, K. R., & Bussey, K. (2017). Individual and collective moral influences on interven-
tion in cyberbullying. Computers in Human Behavior, 74, 7–15. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.
04.019
Berson, I. R., & Berson, M. J. (2006). Children and their digital dossiers: Lessons in privacy
rights in the digital age. International Journal of Social Education, 21(1), 135–147.
18 F. MARTIN ET AL.

Camacho, M., Minelli, J., & Grosseck, G. (2012). Self and identity: Raising undergraduate
students’ awareness on their digital footprints. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences,
46, 3176–3181. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.06.032
Cavanaugh, C. S., Barbour, M. K., & Clark, T. (2009). Research and practice in K-12 online
learning: A review of open access literature. The International Review of Research in
Open and Distributed Learning, 10(1):1–22. doi:10.19173/irrodl.v10i1.607
Chapin, J. (2016). Adolescents and cyber bullying: The precaution adoption process model.
Education and Information Technologies, 21(4), 719–728. doi:10.1007/s10639-014-9349-1
Compton-Lilly, C. (2006). Identity, childhood culture, and literacy learning: A case study.
Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 6(1), 57–76. doi:10.1177/1468798406062175
Costa, C., & Torres, R. (2011). To be or not to be, the importance of digital identity in the
networked society. Educaç~ao, Formaç~ao & Tecnologias-ISSN 1646-933X, 47–53.
Cranmer, S. (2013). Listening to excluded young people’s experiences of e-safety and risk.
Learning, Media and Technology, 38(1), 72–85. doi:10.1080/17439884.2012.658405
Cristol, D., & Gimbert, B.G. (2018, November 11). Teachers as digital citizens: Factors
influencing teachers’ levels of digital citizenship. In D. Parsons, R. Power, A. Palalas, H.
Hambrock, & K. MacCallum (Eds.), Proceedings of 17th World Conference on Mobile and
Contextual Learning (pp. 1–7).
Davis, K., & James, C. (2013). Tweens’ conceptions of privacy online: Implications for edu-
cators. Learning, Media and Technology, 38(1), 4–25. doi:10.1080/17439884.2012.658404
Dowell, E. B., Burgess, A. W., & Cavanaugh, D. J. (2009). Clustering of internet risk behav-
iors in a middle school student population. Journal of School Health, 79(11), 547–553.
doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2009.00447.x
Fluck, J. (2017). Why do students bully? An analysis of motives behind violence in schools.
Youth & Society, 49(5), 567–587. doi:10.1177/0044118X14547876
Gleason, B., & Von Gillern, S. (2018). Digital citizenship with social media: Participatory
practices of teaching and learning in secondary education. Journal of Educational
Technology & Society, 21(1), 200–212.
Haug, S., Castro, R. P., Kwon, M., Filler, A., Kowatsch, T., & Schaub, M. P. (2015).
Smartphone use and smartphone addiction among young people in Switzerland. Journal
of Behavioral Addictions, 4(4), 299–307. doi:10.1556/2006.4.2015.037
Hollandsworth, R., Dowdy, L., & Donovan, J. (2011). Digital citizenship in K-12: It takes a
village. TechTrends, 55(4), 37–47. doi:10.1007/s11528-011-0510-z
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2019). ISTE standards for stu-
dents. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-students
Isman, A., & Canan Gungoren, O. (2014). Digital citizenship. Turkish Online Journal of
Educational Technology-TOJET, 13(1), 73–77.
Jeong, S. H., Kim, H., Yum, J. Y., & Hwang, Y. (2016). What type of content are smart-
phone users addicted to?: SNS vs. games. Computers in Human Behavior, 54, 10–17. doi:
10.1016/j.chb.2015.07.035
Jones, L. M., & Mitchell, K. J. (2016). Defining and measuring youth digital citizenship.
New Media & Society, 18(9), 2063–2079. doi:10.1177/1461444815577797
Khurana, A., Bleakley, A., Jordan, A. B., & Romer, D. (2015). The protective effects of par-
ental monitoring and internet restriction on adolescents’ risk of online harassment.
Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(5), 1039–1047. doi:10.1007/s10964-014-0242-4
Kryder, C. (2013). Online etiquette in the digital age. AMWA Journal, 28(3), 130–131.
Kuehn, L. (2010). Manage your digital footprint. Teacher Newsmagazine, 23(3), 67–69.
Kumazaki, A., Suzuki, K., Katsura, R., Sakamoto, A., & Kashibuchi, M. (2011). The effects
of netiquette and ICT skills on school-bullying and cyber-bullying: The two-wave panel
 COMPUTERS IN THE SCHOOLS 19

study of Japanese elementary, secondary, and high school students. Procedia - Social and
Behavioral Sciences, 29, 735–741. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.11.299
Kwak, M., & Oh, I. (2017). Comparison of psychological and social characteristics among
traditional, cyber, combined bullies, and non-involved. School Psychology International,
38(6), 608–627. doi:10.1177/0143034317729424
Lenhart, A., Madden, M., Smith, A., Purcell, K., Zickuhr, K., & Rainie, L. (2011). Teens,
kindness and cruelty on social network sites: How American teens navigate the new
world of digital citizenship. Pew Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved from
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2011/11/09/teens-kindness-and-cruelty-on-social-
network-sites/
Martin, F., Wang, C., Petty, T., Wang, W., & Wilkins, P. (2018). Middle school students’
social media use. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 21(1), 213–224.
Matos, A. P., Vieira, C. C., Amado, J., Pessoa, T., & Martins, M. J. D. (2018).
Cyberbullying in Portuguese schools: Prevalence and characteristics. Journal of School
Violence, 17(1), 123–137. doi:10.1080/15388220.2016.1263796
McInroy, L. B., & Mishna, F. (2017). Cyberbullying on online gaming platforms for chil-
dren and youth. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 34(6), 597–607. doi:10.1007/
s10560-017-0498-0
Miller, B. (2016). Can I use this app or website for my class? What to know about instruct-
ing teachers and students on digital citizenship, digital footprints, and cybersafety.
Knowledge Quest, 44(4), 22–29.
Montgomery, K. C., Chester, J., & Milosevic, T. (2017). Children’s privacy in the big data
era: Research opportunities. Pediatrics, 140(Supplement 2), S117–S121. doi:10.1542/peds.
2016-1758O
Newburger, E. C. (2001). Home computers and internet use in the United States, August
2000 (pp. 23–207).U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics
Administration, U.S. Census Bureau.
Ohler, J. (2011). Digital citizenship means character education for the digital age. Kappa
Delta Pi Record, 47(sup1), 25–27. doi:10.1080/00228958.2011.10516720
Ojanen, T., Stratman, A., Card, N. A., & Little, T. D. (2013). Motivation and perceived control
in early adolescent friendships: Relations with self-, friend-, and peer-reported adjustment.
The Journal of Early Adolescence, 33(4), 552–577. doi:10.1177/0272431612450947
Pabian, S., & Vandebosch, H. (2016). Short-term longitudinal relationships between adoles-
cents’(cyber) bullying perpetration and bonding to school and teachers. International
Journal of Behavioral Development, 40(2), 162–172. doi:10.1177/0165025415573639
Park, S., Na, E. Y., & Kim, E. M. (2014). The relationship between online activities, neti-
quette and cyberbullying. Children and Youth Services Review, 42, 74–81. doi:10.1016/j.
childyouth.2014.04.002
Pusey, P., & Sadera, W. (2012). Preservice teacher concerns about teaching cyberethics,
cybersafety, and cybersecurity: A focus group study. In Society for Information
Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 3415–3419). Association
for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).
Ribble, M. (2015). Digital citizenship in schools: Nine elements all students should know.
Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.
Savery, J. R. (2005). BE VOCAL: Characteristics of successful online instructors. Journal of
Interactive Online Learning, 4, 141–152.
Seo, K. K. J., Tunningley, J., Warner, Z., & Buening, J. (2016). An insight into student per-
ceptions of cyberbullying. American Journal of Distance Education, 30(1), 39–47. doi:10.
1080/08923647.2016.1121747
20 F. MARTIN ET AL.

Smith, B., & Mader, J. (2016). When students become digital citizens. The Science Teacher,
083(08), 8. doi:10.2505/4/tst16_083_08_8
Song, J., & Oh, I. (2018). Factors influencing bystanders’ behavioral reactions in cyberbully-
ing situations. Computers in Human Behavior, 78, 273–282. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.10.008
Symons, K., Ponnet, K., Emmery, K., Walrave, M., & Heirman, W. (2017). Parental know-
ledge of adolescents’ online content and contact risks. Journal of Youth and Adolescence,
46(2), 401–416. doi:10.1007/s10964-016-0599-7
Tang, S., & Patrick, M. E. (2018). Technology and interactive social media use among
eighth and 10th graders in the U.S. and associations with homework and school grades.
Computers in Human Behavior, 86, 34–44. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2018.04.025
Tsetsi, E., & Rains, S. A. (2017). Smartphone Internet access and use: Extending the digital
divide and usage gap. Mobile Media & Communication, 5(3), 239–255.
Vaala, S. E., & Bleakley, A. (2015). Monitoring, mediating, and modeling: Parental influ-
ence on adolescent computer and internet use in the United States. Journal of Children
and Media, 9(1), 40–57. doi:10.1080/17482798.2015.997103
Van Ouytsel, J., Walrave, M., & Ponnet, K. (2014). How schools can help their students to
strengthen their online reputations. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational
Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 87(4), 180–185. doi:10.1080/00098655.2014.909380
Wise, J. B., & O’Byrne, W. I. (2015). Social scholars: Educators’ digital identity construction
in open, online learning environments. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice,
64(1), 398–414. doi:10.1177/2381336915617607
Wu, D., & Cai, W. (2016). An empirical study on Chinese adolescents’ web search behav-
ior. Journal of Documentation, 72(3), 435–453. doi:10.1108/JD-04-2015-0047
Xu, S., Yang, H. H., MacLeod, J., & Zhu, S. (2019). Interpersonal communication compe-
tence and digital citizenship among pre-service teachers in China’s teacher preparation
programs. Journal of Moral Education, 48(2), 179–198. doi:10.1080/03057240.2018.
1458605