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Photo by Leoni Combrink

Digital Citizenship and Cyber-Safety: What you and your teen need to know...

Suzanne Waters —

Navigating the choppy waters of living in the digital age is a constant challenge for parents, and possibly more so throughout the teenage years.  

Digital Citizenship and Cyber-Safety was the theme of one of our Parent Coffee Meetings held earlier in the year, and is something which we are frequently talking about with parents and students. The aim of the Coffee Meetings was to provide some information to parents on what is happening in this field, along with a chance to share experiences, tips, and resources on how to deal with the challenges this technology raises for us all.

Digital Citizenship is a concept which helps us understand what we all should know so we can use technology appropriately. Digital citizenship is the norms of appropriate, responsible technology use. Too often we are seeing students (as well as adults) misusing and abusing technology, but often we are not sure what to do.

WHAT IS A ‘DIGITAL CITIZEN’?

Netsafe have defined a successful digital citizen as someone who:

  • is a confident and capable user of ICT
  • uses technologies to participate in educational, cultural, and economic activities
  • uses and develops critical thinking skills in cyberspace
  • is literate in the language, symbols, and texts of digital technologies
  • is aware of ICT challenges and can manage them effectively
  • uses ICT to relate to others in positive, meaningful ways
  • demonstrates honesty and integrity and ethical behaviour in their use of ICT
  • respects the concepts of privacy and freedom of speech in a digital world
  • contributes and actively promotes the values of digital citizenship

Some useful links for more information on Digital Citizenship:

http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/

http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Teaching/Digital-citizenship


STAYING SAFE ON-LINE

This is a challenge for us all. Did you know there’s a law to help?

The Harmful Digital Communications Act (2016) is a NZ law made to help minimise the harm caused by online bullying, harassment, and other types of abuse and intimidation. You may get help under the Act if:

1. Someone is posting or sending messages about you; and

2. The posts or messages make you feel very upset; and

3. The posts or messages do any of these things:

  • Encourage you to hurt yourself
  • Share intimate images without your consent (e.g. leaked nudes and revenge porn)
  • Encourage other people to send harmful messages to you
  • Contain material most people would think is very offensive
  • Share your sensitive, private or confidential information without your permission
  • Make a false allegation about you
  • Puts you down because of your colour, race, ethnic or national origins, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or disability
  • Contain content that is indecent or obscene
  • Threaten to hurt you or damage your property

If a student is being bullied, harassed or intimidated by another student in the College it is important to let us know about it. Even if this is occurring outside of school hours we can (and will!) deal with it. Phone the College on (03) 379 3090. Contact people are:

Suzanne Waters – Director of Junior College and Year 11

Rowan Milburn – Deputy Principal Student Wellbeing

Some useful links for more help with Cyber-Safety and other challenges:

https://www.netsafe.org.nz/

https://digi-parenting.co.nz/vodafone-parenting-tools/

https://www.itstimetologoff.com/digital-addiction/