The age of tools is gone. As we drop our shovels and hoes and pick up the tablets in the smartphones, we put ourselves at unexpected danger. For the last few weeks, we have been learning about how we must act online to not just protect ourselves, but to help others who are in a risky situation.

Before this unit, I generally used very little social media. I have nobody’s phone number, except for my parent’s, and I had Microsoft teams to chat to other people. Even then, I never really talked online and I have never operated on Instagram or Facebook. I do have two email accounts: one school account and a gmail account.

I learnt a multitude of things in this unit; from how our online persona changes other’s impression of us, to the values and virtues we should abide by to develop a healthy online lifestyle. These golden ethics summarise how to look after yourself, and to do the right thing when posting, searching and commenting.

Critical thinking means that we always think twice before acting. We consider the consequences and any other alternatives. By doing this, we don’t get tricked by the millions of people online who post fake news and videos so that we don’t.

Empathy is when we put ourselves in someone else’s shoes to act according to a new perspective. By using empathy, we can consider the feelings of people online. For instance, if somebody took a photo of another person and posted it on Instagram, we wouldn’t go writing rude and unhelpful comments because that is not empathetic. Instead, say something nice, or even don’t say anything at all; as long as you don’t hurt anyone’s feelings.

Respect is when we honour the way people are in the world. We acknowledge the variety of beliefs and customs, their intentions and their ambitions. By practising this online, we also are showing understanding of the diversity of people of the web, and by showing respect we can communicate with them and a friendly, appropriate manner.

Finally, responsibility is the base of all online activity. DO THE RIGHT THING! We all have rules which we follow which keeps us in check. Responsibility means sticking to those rules so that everyone gets the best experience online. Responsibility also means you do the right thing; for example, when someone is taking an illegal video, kindly tell them off for doing so.

By doing this unit, I have realised how we must always remember to use kindness online, just like Georgie Gardener, who wished her enemy well when he tormented her with racist and rude remarks. By refusing to use empathy, we can demolish another’s self-esteem, sometimes causing them to take drugs or even commit suicide, as was in Dolly’s case.

Each person is always entitled to their own opinion, as in this world, there is a growing diversity of people. There will always be disagreements, but we must try to respectfully conduct conversations. Racism, sexism and downright insults is exactly what we are trying not to do. For instance, Aboriginal people can feel very offended by Australia Day, while which to most Australians is the day Australia was “founded”,  to them it is a day of mourning. We must use respect and empathy to understand how much the British Empire affected their population, but also how they have their own say in this argument. Just because, sadly, Aboriginals are a minority in the Australian population doesn’t mean they don’t get to voice their opinion. On the other hand, normal Australians must also be allowed to speak on this debate.

I plan to see if I can change my online behaviour on Teams, seeing as that is my online social platform. By always re-reading my messages before posting them to making sure all work done on teams is necessary, I will model myself into someone who uses online tools to my advantage, instead as a distraction.