Intro to Digital Citizenship - Week 4 Reflection and Resources

Early in this course, we were asked to respond on the difference between citizenship and digital citizenship. This activity gave me the opportunity to really reflect on the topic and my own perspective. Through this I realized that to be a good citizen is to be a good digital citizen. Technology is a part of everything we do either directly or indirectly. I bring this all up because I made a similar realization this week on the topic of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is bullying, in today’s world, there should not be a difference, and it is up to the adults in education to prioritize student’s understanding of the magnitude and ramifications associated with all bullying. 

In Monica Lewinsky’s TedTalk, The Price of Shame, she mentions her mom’s reaction to the loss of a young boy who experienced cyberbullying and took his own life. I thought about how in the time before social media existed, that boy may still have been tormented and bullied for his actions, but the reach of that could never have been as far and wide and he may have been able to manage the weight of it all better for that reason. This is the reason that we cannot differentiate between bullying and cyberbullying. The online and offline world are so intertwined now that that the line is far too thin to consider. Everyone is at risk of being affected by cyberbullying. Students are, in my opinion, the most at risk since they regularly interact with other students that have access to technology and social media and young students are the most uneducated in terms of the ramifications associated with cyberbullying, however, that is not to say that other adults are not also at risk. In today’s culture, it is insane the amount of hate that can come from a quick photo, an old post, or a misinterpreted action. We see everyone from celebrities to local officials bullied and ridiculed for these types of things, some warranted and some not. There is a wide misunderstanding, globally, on cyberbullying. Even educated and very capable adults struggle with understanding the weight of their words and the damage that it can do to the target and to them. Herein lies the root cause. 

In an effort to address the widespread misunderstanding of cyberbullying, I believe that public school districts should start with the parents and the community. Providing consistent opportunities for the adults in the community to learn about and understand cyberbullying is critical and foundational to these efforts. Along with these learning opportunities, districts must make an intentional effort to gather internal and external stakeholders to review district policies on cyberbullying and the effectiveness of current practice. Beyond these foundational steps, district leaders must work with campus and district instructional leaders to ensure digital citizenship, specifically focusing on cyberbullying, is a part of the curriculum and intentionally addressed in all subjects.