What exactly do you do online? What is the worth of all the data and recharge credit you burn weekly or monthly? Do you get value for money? Are you aware of your rights and responsibilities as you use the digital space? These are the questions and ideas we would attempt to explore in part 1 and 2 of this article.
Your Digital Rights
We all know that today we live in a digital age. A good part of our time and the things we do have been digitized. For those who have access, being online has become part of life. Yes, the first word that jumps out is ACCESS. It is important for you to know that using the digital space goes with some rights and we call these your digital rights. These digital rights are human rights, and they are also your legal right.
These digital rights open the way for you to “access, use, create, and publish digital media or to access and use computers, other electronic devices, and telecommunications networks” (as described by various websites). The first right is your right to digital access. So, you have the right to use various digital technologies as they exist. There are other digital rights too. They include, right to freedom of expression, right to privacy, right to credit for personal works, right to your identity.
Your Digital Responsibility
Anyone old enough to know her or his rights also needs to know that rights go with responsibility. As you grow older, you are expected to also grow your sense of responsibility. Living out this deep sense of responsibility in the various aspects of your life is what truly makes you an adult who is continually growing better and better into maturity. You are becoming a responsible young adult.
Responsibility is very important. If our parents or guardians did not have a strong sense of responsibility, your life and mine would be very different today. There are persons who did not have responsible and mature adults around them as they grew up. And that has marred them for life. Hence, your maturity exhibited through responsible actions is very important for you, for those around you and for molding future generations in terms of your legacy.
So you also have digital responsibility that closely go with your digital rights. These digital responsibilities include: your responsibility to report bullying, harassing, sexting, or identity theft, responsibility to cite works used for resources and researching, responsibility to download music, videos, and other material legally, responsibility to model and teach student expectations of technology use, responsibility to keep data/information safe from hackers. responsibility not to falsify our identity in any way.
So, as you use the digital space, be aware that you owe yourself and all of humanity these responsibilities. You are required to use this space wisely and have a deep sense of respect for others who are using the space with you. We all have one or two weak points in our characters however, the digital space is not where you come to exhibit those.
There is the use of aggressive words, threats, angry expressions, insults, curses, condemnation of others, and so much more. These may seem like your right to freedom of expression, whereas you are really just showcasing to the world the kind of character and behaviours that you have. It is more of a self-disgrace than you ashaming others or trying to ‘put them where they belong’.
The temptation to vent out on others, especially when you feel hurt on social media is very much present, but this is where your maturity and sense of digital responsibility comes in. Your manners have to be right and appropriate. With this you will always stand tall and not miss out on good things that could have come to you just because of things you wrote in the digital space.
The Worth of Your Online Presence
(To be continued in – Part Two)
Leave a Reply