Why Cyber Citizenship Should be Included in the Education System

By  Rose

Have you ever wondered how to prevent cyberbullying in today's youth? Cyber harassment has been a major issue within the youth because of social media. There are many social media apps that kids can sign up for that not only requires their personal information but also has other people on it. Defining cyberbullying to me is pretty easy. It’s when a user of an app continuously says mean things to harm or to mess with another person. I believe digital citizenship should be a needed lesson in the American school system because it will help students, parents, and teachers to understand the struggles that come with today's technology.

I encourage every parent to talk to their children about the dangers of using the internet and the consequences that could come with online bullying. When I was researching and found a website that had multiple different conversation starters that parents could use to talk with their children about the multiple different topics that are included in cyber citizenship. In another article that I read, a young girl petitioned and fought for a course at her school in Texas that involved everything there is to know about being apart of the online world. In the article it states that 95% of teenagers that range from 12 to 17 years of age are online approximately 10 hours a day at a time. Teachers have said that this should be taught because they should know about and how to use social safety.  

Cyber crime is a large portion of crime in the United States and there are three different ways to use a computer illegally. The computer could be used as a target to try to hurt other online webbers, and it can be used as a weapon by doing illegal gambling or trying to commit internet fraud. The website http://www.cybercitizenship.org/ also states that the computer could be used as an accessory meaning someone could keep stolen or illegal files on it.  

There are many sites that are created to help the understanding of cyber citizenship that go into the specifics of what it really is to help even the people who don’t fully understand the internet in general. Cyber citizenship should be taught in all schools because it would help create a safe environment for children to be and to help then understand what the right and the wrongs are. A good website is https://sos.fbi.gov/ because it has the courses already mapped out and has different games to help each grade learn about the topic. I think it would be great to have that in schools because it’s fun and entertaining yet still teaches the students at the same time. There are also tests at the end and the website automatically grades the tests and quizzes for the teacher, and the teacher can also request the test scores.

I encourage every parent to sit and down talk with their child about the cyber citizenship. If children learn at a young age then they will continue to use the internet in a respectful way and then pass on their knowledge to other friends and family. If the Cyber Citizenship course is added to the regular curriculum in elementary schools then everyone can help improve the overall use of the internet and to create a fun save place for every online webber. Also, if this program is involved in schools then it will give the students a fun game to do while also learning. A lot of kids don't focus much or learn so this would be a great way to get them to do exactly that. Digital citizenship is needed because people need to learn the rights and the wrongs of technology. They also need to learn the consequences that come with doing illegal or mean things to people online. The consequences can range back and forth. If someone commits something illegal then they could end up in prison and if a child cyber bullies they could get in a lot of trouble with their parents and school. If good citizenship is taught while kids are young then they can help prevent the future cyber crimes that may occur.