The New Golden Rule
Often I get asked (frequently at work) for my opinion on how to teach children about online safety. Next week I’ll be part of a panel of school administrators and teachers talking about this very subject.
I get very defensive when topics like sexting and online bullying come up in these conversations. It’s almost as though I feel, as a technology evangelist, that I am being attacked when a parent says, “that is why I don’t want my child to be online.”
My philosophy is and always has been: do unto others as you would have them do unto you, even online. That’s it. If you wouldn’t demean your classmate in the hallway (and you shouldn’t) then why would you mistreat him online? If you wouldn’t make fun of a person to her face, then why would you send her an e-mail or a text message that has the same effect?
I don’t believe there is a distinction between how we behave online and how we behave in “real life.” I think that by teaching children the rules of online etiquette or “netiquette,” we somehow imply that those rules are different than the everyday rules. This is completely illogical, and I think it is harmful.
Don’t be a hooligan in real life, and don’t be a hooligan online either. They are, after all, the same thing.
(P.S. I’m glad I work with some very smart people, who happen to agree with me.)