How to be a Responsible Netizen?

How well do we use it?

Nowadays, too young and even too old people know how to use the internet. Usually, everyone use it for many purposes just like enjoying and playing online games which some people are addicted to and are wasting their money for, without significance. Some use the internet to find friends, for online businesses to earn money and to communicate with their loved ones in far places. Others use it to post compositions they wanted to share and express to the world. Like, every day, we’re being bombarded with our friends’ statuses about their current heartbreaks and our classmates’ tweets about the amount of requirements to be passed at the end of the quarter. These are just few of the topics that we usually see on our social media accounts.  And in fact, students, like me, use it not just to have fun but to learn more, to search and to do assignments, projects and reports needed in our studies. 

In our country, the Philippines, we have this freedom of expression; we are allowed to express or to state whatever is going on in our minds wherever and whenever… But this kind of mindset is what we shouldn’t have. “It’s okay to post whatever we like as long as we know what we’re posting and that we are responsible for it.” Will it affect a certain person? Will it be life-changing? Will it cause you trouble? Or worse, after posting it, how sure are you that you’re not disparaging anyone and not putting yourself into a huge mess?

 

As netizens, we must be conscious of what we post online. Being one of the netizens is not enough. To become a responsible netizen, you must know the responsibilities in using it and you as an individual must be responsible enough. Here are some ways on how to be a responsible netizen.

First, BE MINDFUL OF WHAT YOU SHARE. Refrain from posting on social media information that would tend to exacerbate the situation. Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram are just some of the social networking sites people can join and use. It may seem to be a great way to drop off frustrations and may be fun to use, but make sure to do it responsibly. Before posting online, ask yourself if what is the tone of your post like? Is it true? Does it cause harm to someone else? Or is it worth sharing? Remember that everything you post online can put you at risk or can harm someone else. So, be a smart netizen.

Second, REDUCE THE NOISE AND AVOID SHARING FAKE NEWS. Social media can easily get flooded in times of emergencies. Help reduce the noise by not spreading unverified information on social media – especially those that do nothing but provoke fear in the community. The number of fake news sites masking themselves as real news sites is growing, making it more difficult for the average reader to tell the difference between what's real and what's fake.

Third, BE CAREFUL OF WHAT YOU SAY. Be attentive to the fact that you won’t appear rude, insensitive, arrogant, or sly. A hastily written bad comment can cause future embarrassment and remains there forever. Hence, be polite and be more mature when interacting with your friends, followers and audience on social media.

Fourth, BE MINDFUL OF PRIVACY. In today’s digital world, it’s very easy to take screenshots of private messages and share it to the whole world. It is an improper and offensive act that is why it shouldn’t be done at all. If you also don’t want what you share privately to be shared to the public, avoid doing it online. Remember the golden rule: “Do not do unto others what you don’t want others to do unto you".

Lastly, DON'T HATE-EDUCATE. Flaming and hate commenting on people you disagree with leads to nothing and proves nothing. Instead of stating bad comments on social media, we should educate other netizens to be a responsible person. It’s important to remember when you’re posting; you are likely to come across a whole range of views on different matters. Some of which you may consider offensive.

These are just some of the ways you can do to be a better netizen. So always practice proper netiquettes when you are using the Internet. Remember. SOCIAL MEDIA IS SOCIAL MEDIA. If you delete your posts, yes, some may forget them, however there is still a possibility that some may don’t. Once it's on the internet it's never gone. So, we should be mindful of what we do.