Digital Communication & Etiquette
What is Digital Etiquette?
Just like any society needs rules and regulations to keep people safe, the online community also needs guidelines. While there are no set digital laws currently, digital etiquette is the digital manners that people should apply when interacting with the web. These guidelines will keep them safe from the clutches of cyberbullies, sexting and other potentially harmful situations.
Check out the following slides to learn more about what guidelines you should follow while communicating online.
Check out the following slides to learn more about what guidelines you should follow while communicating online.
Sexting
The trend these days is the "selfie." But what happens when the selfie gets
morphed into something else entirely?
More and more young adults in the current generation have reported having participated in some kind of sexting in their lives, whether purely message or photographs included.
In a study conducted at a university in 2011, 54% of the students stated that they had sexted as minors and 28% of the students stated that they had sent a
photograph.
71% of the interviewed students reported knowing someone who suffered from negative consequences due to sexting.
While sexting is not limited to photographs, sending photos can be legally dangerous. There are not yet laws that specifically target sexting, therefore sending explicit texts at a young age could have some serious legal consequences, including charges of child pornography and other serious crimes.
59% of the interviewed college students reported that they would have been deterred from sending such explicit messages had they known the legal consequences of their actions (Levy, 2014).
morphed into something else entirely?
More and more young adults in the current generation have reported having participated in some kind of sexting in their lives, whether purely message or photographs included.
In a study conducted at a university in 2011, 54% of the students stated that they had sexted as minors and 28% of the students stated that they had sent a
photograph.
71% of the interviewed students reported knowing someone who suffered from negative consequences due to sexting.
While sexting is not limited to photographs, sending photos can be legally dangerous. There are not yet laws that specifically target sexting, therefore sending explicit texts at a young age could have some serious legal consequences, including charges of child pornography and other serious crimes.
59% of the interviewed college students reported that they would have been deterred from sending such explicit messages had they known the legal consequences of their actions (Levy, 2014).
Don't be one of those 54%.
Don't send explicit messages or photographs.
Your legal record will thank you.
Don't send explicit messages or photographs.
Your legal record will thank you.
Cyberbulling
"85% of middle schoolers polled reported being cyberbullied at least once” when asked in 2011.
"Children with disabilities are 2-3 times more likely to be bullied than their nondisabled peers."
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"81.9% of students who identify as LGBTQ were bullied in the last year based on their sexual orientation."
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"Among overweight adolescents, 61% have received mean or embarrassing posts online and 59% have received mean texts, e-mails or instant messages."
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"For people 15-24 years old, suicide is the third leading cause of death."
(Bullying, Cyberbullying & Suicide Statistics)
What is Cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is an increasing worldwide problem. But what is Cyberbullying?
“When a minor uses technology as a weapon to intentionally target and hurt another minor, it’s
cyberbullying.”
“Any cyber-communication or publication posted or sent by a minor online, by instant message, e-mail, website, diary site, online profile, interactive game, handheld device, cellphone, game device, digital camera or video, webcam or use of any interactive device that is intended to frighten, embarrass, harass, hurt, set up, cause harm to, extort, or otherwise target another minor.”
“When a minor uses technology as a weapon to intentionally target and hurt another minor, it’s
cyberbullying.”
“Any cyber-communication or publication posted or sent by a minor online, by instant message, e-mail, website, diary site, online profile, interactive game, handheld device, cellphone, game device, digital camera or video, webcam or use of any interactive device that is intended to frighten, embarrass, harass, hurt, set up, cause harm to, extort, or otherwise target another minor.”
(Cyberbullying)
What is considered Cyberbullying?
- Instant Messaging/E-mail/Text Messaging Harassment (including “text wars” and death threats)
- Impersonating another person online by having a similar email address or screen name and saying mean and hurtful things
- Stealing someone’s password and impersonating the person online. They may say mean and hurtful things, change their profile, lock the victim out of their account, or allow hackers access to the victim’s computer.
- Creating a blog to impersonate someone else or saying mean or hurtful things about other people through a blog.
- Using websites to insult or tease other people or to post other people’s personal information or pictures.
- Using email and cell phones to spread pictures of people to mass amounts of people.
- Using internet polling to ask offensive questions about others.
- Abusing other people through interactive games.
- Sending viruses or hacking programs to other people.
- Sending other people marketing emails, junk emails or explicit websites.
- Using social networking, like Facebook or Twitter, to post pictures, post videos and spread rumors about other people.
- Using accomplices to help harass other people and then blaming the accomplice.
Is there a Delaware Statewide Cyberbullying Policy? |
Can there be consequences for Cyberbullying? |
Yes. The statewide cyberbullying policy:
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The Delaware statewide Cyberbullying policy :
Consequences: Delaware 14 Del. Code Ann. Sec. 4123A- Gives school administrators the authority to take action against technology related bullying occurring on or off school grounds, provided there is a significant connection with school. Each school district must develop an anti-bullying with “no reprisal” policy that includes appropriate reporting requirements and consequences for violation. The law also requires the State Department of Education to coordinate with the State Department of Justice to formulate and revise a model bullying policy. |
(Cyberbullying and the States, 2010)
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(Cyberbullying and the States, 2010)
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Check out this short Public Service Announcement to learn about:
Acceptable Use Policies
The dangers of sharing passwords
Cyberbullying
Acceptable Use Policies
The dangers of sharing passwords
Cyberbullying
Sharing Personal Information & Safety
Key Statistics on Cybersafety:
- 83% of teenagers report having at least one social networking account.
- Some social networking accounts have age requirements (Myspace and Facebook require that you are in high school). 55% of 7th and 8th graders polled admitted to having a social networking account.
- 65% of girls and 68% of boys reported that they were friends online with someone they didn’t know offline.
- 41% of teens reported posting their cell number, workplace, schedule, or personal pictures.
(Statistics and a Snapshot of Cyberbullying Trends)
The Dangers of Giving Out Personal Information
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Acceptable Use Policies
If you have already watched the Public Service Announcement above, then you already know that an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) is a signed agreement between a student, parent and teacher that outlines the accepted guidelines and rules for using technology, especially the internet. It also outlines the consequences if a person were to break those rules.
For more information on why schools should be implementing AUPs, read the following article:
For more information on why schools should be implementing AUPs, read the following article:
For an example of a school district's AUP, take a look at Appoquinimink School District's Acceptable Use Policy below:
Appropriate Communication & Netiquette
With so many different communication methods out there, how can we be sure which one to use?
Should we call or just send an email or text?
Should we leave a voicemail?
Here are some tips from Laura Stack on how to choose a method of communication that suits your needs.
There are two categories to think about when communicating a message:
Should we call or just send an email or text?
Should we leave a voicemail?
Here are some tips from Laura Stack on how to choose a method of communication that suits your needs.
There are two categories to think about when communicating a message:
Interactive v. Static
- Is your message interactive? Interactive messages are back and forth messages.
- Or maybe you have a static message to send (just delivery of a message).
Personal v. Impersonal
- Is your message personal? A personal message should be done in person or on the phone. Typically these types of messages require you to listen for the tone of another person. You may want to communicate this way if you are trying to build relationships with people (for business or personal) or if any ideas may be confusing through writing.
- An impersonal message may be composed in writing.
The following diagram explains how best to choose a purpose for your message.
Once you have picked out the purpose of your message, then you can figure out what method of communication would be best to convey your message. Use this guide to help you.
Appropriate Language
It's easy to get lost in the habit of "u" and "cuz" because we are so used to texting our friends with those spellings and shorthands. But there is a time and a place for appropriate spelling and grammar. You should think about what situation you are in and decide how your spelling and grammar will reflect on you in that situation.
Academic/BusinessYou should be using the most academic and appropriate language you can whenever new opportunities to reflect the best side of yourself arise. This includes:
The classroom University classes The office Meeting new clients Any other time you may leave an impression on another person |
PersonalThese are the times to use abbreviations and short hand spellings. Feel free to use as many as you want in these circumstances:
Texting Friends Texting Family Emailing Friends Emailing Family Any other time that is only for personal communication and the person does not mind the "text speak." |
Texting Habits |
Tips for Checking Academic Writing |
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Email Netiquette
With social interactions online growing every day, it is sometimes hard to understand the “guidelines” for how to appropriately interact with people online. Here are some “Netiquette” tips for emailing:
- Remember that email is not private- it goes through many networks before it reaches its recipient.
- Think and be cautious before you send an email- check your recipients and the tone of your email
- Keep emails short and sweet and to the point
- rite a short subject in the ‘subject’ line
- Check your spelling and grammar If you are away from the office, use the ‘out of office’ response to notify others of your absence
- Keep a personal and a business email and refrain from mixing the two
- When writing an email, be considerate, courteous and responsible and reply in a timely manner
- Make sure your computer is free of viruses
Additional Resources
Digital Citizenship by Lauren Lucca is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.