• About
  • Are You Overplugged?
  • Contact
  • Tips
  • Videos

Overplugged

~ This is your brain on-line

Tag Archives: Tech Use

Digital Citizenship: It takes an iVillage To Raise an Online Child

12 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by David Ryan Polgar in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

David Ryan Polgar, digital citizen, digital citizenship, Tech Use

iPhone Work by Tinkerbrad from Flickr Creative Commons

by david ryan Polgar

Nearly everyone is using the Internet today, but are we using it correctly?

A digital citizen is someone who not only regularly uses the net but does so in an effective and responsible manner. Similar to how a responsible citizen is adequately informed, conscious of those around them, and actively participates in their community; a digital citizen is equally as engaged.

The times they are a changin’.

We are not only citizens of the town, state, and country we live in, but also digital citizens in the online world. As such, how we interact with the community at large is an increasingly-important part of our lives. And just like a Civics class you may have taken in high school, every student in the near future will be taking a Cyber Civics class.

What makes you a good citizen of your town, state, and country? Think about your active participation (i.e. voting), your knowledge base (i.e. following the news), and your behavior (i.e. following the agreed-upon laws). The increasing richness of our online world is making it essential that those entering the world are armed with skills, guiding principles, and support. This should be baptism by fire.

It takes an iVillage to raise an online child.

Diana Graber, a pioneer in digital citizenship and co-founder of CyberWise.org, has stated that “the most important new media skills are social and behavioral skills.”

Here are three quick tips to be a better digital citizen:

1. App wizardry is not digital literary

We often wrongly assume that someone who is a heavy tech user is a savvy tech user. Someone who is cyber savvy has a deep and diverse amount of understanding about the tech they are using. This includes:

a. Having a diverse range of tech skills: You should be able to send a tweet and an email, and know the difference in those mediums.

b. Understanding the concept of credibility: There is a difference between Joe’s blog and the New York Times. While the content may seemingly derive from the same place (i.e. a Google search), they do not carry the same level of trustworthiness and weight.

2. Communication is a two-way street

Social networks and comment sections can easily be overwhelmed by a bunch of people talking but nobody listening. A digital citizen is one who actively listens, welcomes a diverse range of opinions, and is respectful in how they respond.

Communication is a two-way street where the speaker is tuned in and aware of their audience, and mindful about how their words will be construed.

3. Accessibility does not equal permission

The online world often seems like a bazaar filled with free pictures, music, and movies. Your accessibility to download the picture, song, or latest Hollywood blockbuster is not the same as having permission to download it. For example, if we saw an unattended necklace lying on the table, we wouldn’t assume that we could freely take it.

The same concept of ethical behavior should take place online; just because you can take something doesn’t mean that it is ethical to do so.

Want more content on Digital Citizenship? Check out the resources at CyberWise on this topic.

*The photo is under a Creative Commons license; “iPhone work” by Tinkerbrad; Flickr.

Zack Morris on Tech Etiquette

16 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by David Ryan Polgar in Tech Balance, Technology

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Mindfulness, Smartphones, Tech Etiquette, Tech Use, Zack Morris

zackphone (1)

We all know his brick-phone, but we may have forgotten his guidance to put down our phones and connect.

By David Ryan Polgar

Everything I needed to know in life, I learned from my years at Bayside. I learned about integrity from Principal Belding. I learned about the dangers of drugs from Jessie Spano. And everyone’s favorite nerd, Screech, taught me the dangers of acting like Dustin Diamond as an adult.

It was Zack Morris, though, that taught me about tech etiquette. Alongside being the big man on campus and getting into all types of high school high jinks, he was able to offer some sage advice about being present in the moment.

While he is well known for his brick-sized cell phone, we may have forgotten his commentary about proper phone use. Long before popular YouTube videos like I Forgot My Phone and Look Up examined how we are often glued to our devices instead of connecting with those around us, Zack Morris tackled the issue.

Check out the episode Rent-a-Pop (Season 3, ep 7, 20 minutes in; available on Netflix), which features Zack’s rascal of a dad, Derek. Derek Morris is obsessed with his phone, so much so that he is oblivious to Zack’s life and has become an absentee father. When Zack needs his father’s permission to go on a ski trip, Zack decides it would be easier to hire an actor to play his father. When his real father, Derek, catches wind of the duplicity, the ski trip is off.

This leads to a face-off between father and son, where Zack Morris lays the smack down on his dad’s poor tech etiquette.

rent-a-pop1

Derek: “The ski trip is off. Why couldn’t you just be straight with me? Why couldn’t you just tell me you were having trouble in school?

Zack: “Dad, I tried to tell you. You’re not that easy to talk to.”

Derek: “You used to tell me everything. What happened to us?”

PHONE RINGS

Zack: “That’s what happened to us.” [Derek talks on phone]

“See, that’s the problem. You’re always on that stupid phone.”

Saved by the Bell Derek Morris 3

Derek: “It’s just business. It’s important.”

Zack: “Is it more important than your family?”

[PHONE RINGS / Derek is on the phone talking. Zack walks to the corner of the room and covertly makes a call to his dad. His dad, not available to his son but always for a call, picks up the phone.]

Derek: “Derek Morris.”

Zack: “Dad.”

Derek: “Zack?”

Zack: “Is this the only way I can get through to you now?”

[Conversation; dawns on Derek that he’s been kind of a prick.]

Derek: “Son….son, when was the last time we sat down and had a long talk?”

Saved by the Bell Derek Morris 2

Zack and his dad have a conversation about baseball. The phone rings again. Derek, trying now to be a better father, tells the person on the phone that he is taking his son fishing.

I have no idea if Derek kept his promise to take Zack fishing after the canned applause died down and the episode ended. But one thing is clear: if you are looking to connect, put down your damn phone and talk to the person next to you. Take it from Zack Morris.

“See, that’s the problem. You’re always on that stupid phone.” -Zack Morris

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Blogroll

  • David Ryan Polgar
  • Dr. David Greenfield

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy