Digital Citizenship Week teaches children how to act safely and ethically online and on their devices. How kids conduct themselves online impacts their well-being, so it’s important to guide and educate them on how to act responsibly in digital spaces.
Three Internet safety statistics
- According to GuardChild, 17% of young teenagers say they have received uncomfortable messages and photos online.
- As stated by Forbes, social media contributes to around 70% of the cases of sleep deprivation in kids.
- A Google survey claimed that over 80% of teachers needed more resources to comfortably teach their students about internet safety.
Five tips on how to be a responsible digital citizen
- Don’t accept friend or follow requests from strangers or people you’re unfamiliar with.
- Don’t share your location with everyone. It’s okay to share it with a trusted individual like a family member or a close friend in an emergency.
- Keep your passwords protected by noting them down in a safe place and not sharing them with anyone else.
- Don’t lie about your age, and keep your personal and family information private.
- Make sure not to click on any links that seem explicit or questionable. They may lead to a harmful virus on your device.
Digital Citizenship Resources
The Common Sense Education organization offers a free, research-based K-12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum with lesson plans to teach students how to:
- Manage their online information and keep it secure.
- Protect their online privacy while respecting others.
- Explore, examine, and protect their online reputations.
- Reflect on their responsibilities and rights as creators online.
- Identify, find, evaluate, and use information effectively.
- Deal with a cyberbullying situation appropriately.
- Stay safe online through positive connections.
The comprehensive digital citizenship lessons are aligned to the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards for Students and include resources to share with families, can be delivered offline or in a blended format, and provide the option for student assessments. Additionally, Common Sense Media has invested in designing professional development resources to support educators in implementing the materials.