Be a Good Digital Citizen: Tips for Teens and Parents

5 Essential Facts of Digital Life

Advice & Answers

In fall 2010, Common Sense Media brought its digital citizenship campaign to Omaha, Neb., in the first of many joint town hall events with MTV and the Family Violence Prevention Fund. Combining MTV's "A Thin Line" campaign with the Family Violence Prevention Fund's "That's Not Cool" initiative, the town halls are designed to generate honest discussion and open the lines of communication between parents and teens about the issues at play when growing up in a digital world. In Omaha, a panel of teens, a teacher, and a parent discussed the challenges and opportunities of living in a public and powerful online world and what it means to be a good digital citizen.

Nothing was off-limits: The panel covered everything from privacy and cyberbullying to protecting online reputation and how digital communication affects a teen’s everyday relationships.

In the video above, Omaha teens express what they love about their digital lives -- as well as what they struggle with. The Internet, texting, social networking -- these are the realities of teen life today. And while all of these things can be misused, they also have the potential for being powerful tools when used responsibly.

For teens, we offer five simple rules of digital citizenship to help them create a world they can be proud of -- and inspire others to do the same.

Think before you post or text -- a bad reputation could be just a click away. Before you press the "send" button, imagine the last person in the world that you’d want seeing what you post.

What goes around comes around. If you want your privacy respected, respect others' privacy. Posting an embarrassing photo or forwarding a friend’s private text without asking can cause unintended hurt or damage to others.

Spread heart, not hurt. If you wouldn’t say it in person, don’t say it online. Stand up for those who are bullied or harassed, and let them know that you’re there for them.

Give and get credit. We’re all proud of what we create. Illegal downloading, digital cheating, and cutting and pasting other people’s stuff may be easy, but that doesn’t make it right. You have the responsibility to respect other people’s creative work -- and the right to have your own work respected.

Make this a world you want to live in. Spread the good stuff. Create, share, tag, comment, and contribute to the online world in positive ways.

We live in a rapidly changing media and tech world in which kids are far more plugged in digitally than parents and teachers are, and these technologies present huge challenges for our kids and how they grow up. Digital dramas can have a lasting effect on a teen’s life. But parents and educators can make a real impact on the future of teens growing up in a digital world. Help teens help themselves.

The Internet’s not written in pencil. It’s written in pen. What teens do online spreads fast and lasts long. Remind them to think before they post.

Nothing is as private as they think. Anything teens say or do can be copied, pasted, and sent to gazillions of people in a heartbeat. Make sure kids use privacy settings and that they understand that the best way to protect their secrets is not to post personal stuff.

Kindness counts. The anonymity of the digital world can lead kids to say and do things online that they wouldn’t in person. Encourage them to communicate kindly, stand up for others, and build positive online relationships rooted in respect.

Digital cheating is still cheating. Right and wrong extend to online and mobile life. Impart your values, and tell kids not to plagiarize, download illegally, or use technology to cheat in school.

Embrace their world. None of us wants technology to isolate us from our kids. Do some homework, and ask kids to share the sites they visit, the songs they download, the gadgets they love. It’s up to us to join the fun and help them seize the potential.