The History Of The Digital Citizenship Information Technology Essay

A digital citizen is a tool which helps teachers, technology leaders and parents to understand what students, children, and technology users should know to use technology the right way and also having knowledge of it. Digital Citizenship is more than just a teaching tool it is a way to prepare technology users for a society full of technology. To be considered a digital citizen you must have any record of you being in touch with electronic devices in the world. These people create blogs and use social networks. Signing up for an e- mail address is the first step into becoming a citizenship for many people. The government uses this tool a lot to transfer and record its information; this is called the e- government. Many governments that do not have this are a disadvantage to them because they cannot organize so well their important information. There is also something called the e- democracy, it involves campaign web sites online. People who do not cooperate so much with technology tend be isolated socially and not kept up to date in our world. Practically being a digital citizen makes life a lot easier.

There are nine themes of digital citizenship. One of these nine themes is digital etiquette. It is defined as the standards of conduct and procedure. People must be taught to be responsible in this area. Another theme is Digital literacy. This is the process of teaching and learning about technology and the use of technology. Schools have been doing a great part in this, but still a lot has to be done. Learners must be taught on how to deal with digital society. Business, military, and medicine are good examples of how technology is being used differently.

Another theme of technology is digital communication. This is the electronic exchange of information.”One of the significant changes within the digital revolution is a person’s ability to communicate with other people. In the nineteenth century communication technology was very limited, but by the twenty first century this boosted up. The expanding of communication technology changed everything because people have the ability to keep frequent communication with anyone else, anywhere else. Although people do have to be very aware to whom they talk to because there are a lot of thieves and sexual predators. The fourth theme of digital citizenship is digital access. This is the full electronic participation in society. Technology users need to be alert of internet access and also support it. People should be able to have full access to technology no matter who they are. To become good, productive citizens we need to be committed to digital access.

Another theme of digital citizenship is digital commerce. This is the electronic buying and sales of goods. A large portion of the market economy is being held electronically. For example like when people shop cloths online. Unfortunately there are illegal sales electronically, like the sales of pornography and gambling. Our society has to learn to be effective consumers in the new digital economy. The sixth theme of digital citizenship is digital law. This is the electronic responsibility for actions and deeds. This takes care of the ethics of technology in our society. Unethical use makes it a form of theft and crime. This includes for example stealing other people’s information or identity. Hacking into stud and downloading illegal music violates the digital law.

The Seventh theme is digital rights and responsibilities. This is the freedoms extended to everyone in a digital world. Just like how in the constitution there is a bill of rights, there is a set of rights for every digital citizen as well. Digital citizens have the right to free speech, privacy and so on. These rights also point to responsibilities as well, people have to use technology in the right manner and not violate these rights. In the digital society these two must fuse together in for everyone to be active well. The eighth theme of citizen ship is digital health and wellness. This is the physical and physiological well being in a digital technology world. Eye safety, repetitive stress syndrome, and sound ergonomic practices are problems that we need to be aware of in the technological world. Physiological issues are becoming more prevalent, like internet addiction.

The final theme of digital citizenship is digital security. This is the electronic precautions to guarantee safety. In the digital community there are people who steal and corrupt other people. Therefore people should be careful and not trust other people in the digital world. Like how we have locks on our doors and alarms for fires in our house, we have to have the same for our digital world and have virus protections, backups of data, and surge control for our equipment. This is being a responsible digital citizen.

In conclusion, people of our society must get in touch more often with the digital world. There are a lot of benefits for using it, but we always have to be careful in the digital community just like how we are in the non-digital community. Be the best digital citizen you can be.

Work Cited

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“Digital Citizen.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 24 Aug. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_citizen>.

“Digital Citizen.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 24 Aug. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_citizen>.