Digital Citizenship

Our responsibility to be a good digital citizen

Raee Yeoh
Senior Associate of Teach For Malaysia, Malaysia |

We are living in a fast-paced world where we can buy our favorite breakfast from bed, to sharing our opinion to the world within seconds - and all it takes just a few swipes and click around social media. Same applies to learning too.

As an educator, I noticed the increase usage of mobile phone for learning - whether it is intentional or unintentional. My students would be able to learn about current news via memes, funny video or even comments posted in the social media. Very often, they would assume the opinion from majority of the comment under a thread as a fact, or even practice the same behavior of certain online community.

Digital literacy is the ability and knowledge needed to learn using technology tools. I believe everyone is digitally literate on the usage of the tool, but only few see the importance of practicing digital citizenship.

The online world is multinational and multicultural. Instead of focusing on changing someone different to be thinking or reacting like how we want, it is also the platform for us to accept differences and seek to understand. That is the first step of practicing digital citizenship.

It is our responsibility to be a good digital citizen.

It is our responsibility to practice good online etiquette, as the next generation are constantly watching and learning what we did.

Am I practicing digital citizenship today? Have you asked yourself this question?

It is our responsibility to practice good online etiquette, as the next generation are constantly watching and learning what we do.

- Raee Yeoh, 2020