Statement 4: A global digital citizen is socially and culturally aware and acts ethically at all times in an online learning environment 

It is essential that a global digital citizen is socially and culturally aware and it is vital that they act ethically at all times in an online learning environment. Individuals are obligated to act respectfully and ethically with other people while online. A global digital citizen is defined as by Lee Wantanbe-Crockett (definition ) “a responsible, ethical citizen, leveraging technology to foster community on a global scale through connection and compassion”. Being socially and culturally aware is being able to understand how to act appropriately in online situations and respect different cultures. It is crucial that people act with moral integrity whilst participating online as each person has their own circumstances and conscious of this to create a positive learning environment. It is evident that we as individuals act with social and cultural integrity and ethically moral whilst interacting with others in a global digital environment.

Being socially conscious online is an integral part in developing ourselves as global digital citizens. The way people act online and in person is totally different as people can hide behind a screen and a fake identity. Sadly though, many individuals have the approach that people can act differently online and in person because of having a fake identity and act in a negative way as they know they remain anonymous and it is easy to get carried away and forget that online people have real feelings. Also, people need to be extremely cautious with messages and online posts.  An example of this is that sarcasm is hard to detect through messages or online posts and can be highly offensive to people as they do not pick up the sarcasm. To avoid bad social situations, individuals should prevent sarcasm online because you do not have the social cues to pick it up like you would in person and it can be taken out of context. Further social issues is seen in Pauline Hanson’s comments stating that Australia will ‘be swarmed by Muslims’ (article). This is harmful behaviour as it is socially degrading others through racism and breaking foundations in a positive online environment.  It is highly critical that people are socially aware of what they online say as it can have serious repercussions for society. If individuals do not comply, they fail being a global digital citizen as they cause a toxic online learning environment.

It is crucial that a global digital citizen is culturally aware whilst in an online learning environment.  Culture is defined as by Merriam-Webster as “the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group”. It is critical that a global digital citizen understands that circumstances are different for every country and they must act accordingly in those situations. Before acting and posting online, individuals must realise that every country does not have the same laws and regulations as that country they live in. Furthering this, some words in certain languages can translate into highly offensive words in other languages. A prime example of this is when Pepsi had an advertisement that had the slogan ‘come alive with Pepsi’, which translated bring your ancestors back from the dead with Pepsi in China. Emily Robertshaw enforces that this advertisement caused a lot of backlash because the Chinese culture worship their ancestors and they thought by drinking Pepsi it would bring them back from the dead. (article)This is a prime example that individuals need to be cautious and research words that translate into other languages to prevent this from occurring again. If people fail to do this, they can not be considered a global digital citizen as they have failed complying with culture awareness and causing a toxic online learning environment.

Lastly acting ethically at all times in an online environment is crucial. Ethics can be defined as by Terrasi (2019), “digital ethics are the norms dedicated to ensuring the autonomy and dignity of users is respected on the internet”. It is crucial that individuals are constantly respectful of other people’s choices, privacy and safety online. Some ethical dilemmas that individuals face is that people should not take photos of other people with no permission and it is a massive breach of privacy and safety. It is of high importance that permission is received before taking and posting photos as it may seem harmless, but others see it as a breach in their privacy and safety. Asking before posting photos online will prevent issues in an online learning environment. Another massive ethical issue is leaking private information. This is shown when Facebook leaked 419 million users phone number. Charlotte Gee from MIT Technology Review, states that the leak also included names, gender and regions people live (article). Facebook have breached a serious ethical issue as it has exploited the data and information of users that trust the company. To avoid this from happening, Facebook must understand and respect the integrity and privacy of all users. It is highly critical that people respect the personal privacy, safety and wishes of other people and do not breach these. Individuals need to comply with ethics to be a global digital citizen to enable a positive learning environment.

Individuals who follow all social, cultural and ethics at all times in an online environment can be classified as a global digital citizen. It is crucial that people follow all social, cultural and ethics in an online environment to create a better online world as it can have a negative impact on society. If individuals fail to comply with any of these stages, people do not fall in line with being a global digital citizen and create a toxic environment online.

References

Crockett-Wantanabe, L. (2017). What is a Global Digital Citizen and Why Does the World Need Them? Meriam-Webster

https://medium.com/future-focused-learning/what-is-a-global-digital-citizen-and-why-does-the-world-need-them-8b94ace7803

Palin,M. (2017). Pauline Hanson’s most controversial moments – NZ Herald

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11906135

Terrasi (2019) Unpacking Digital Citizenship 5.1https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/execute/displayLearningUnit?course_id=_45339_1&content_id=_3261712_1

Robertshaw, E. (2017). 5 slogan translation fails. Andiamo

https://www.andiamo.co.uk/blog/5-slogan-translation-fails/

Gee, C. (2019) Facebook has leaked 419 million phone numbers. MIT Technology Review

https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/09/05/133154/facebook-has-leaked-419-million-phone-numbers/