Netizen Have A Responsibility

Regardless of who you are or where you come from one thing is certain. Uncertainty.

It is so easy to get stuck into a routine and think that life is just a case of plodding along and putting one foot in front of the other day after day. However we all have those moments when we look in the mirror and wonder whether we are simply surviving instead of thriving. We all want to change the world. To help the refugees. To stop crime, war, poverty and famine. To see our children grow up in a world better than ours.

When we look at the world outside the window though it looks too vast, everything is moving too fast. We watch the news and feel overwhelmed. We get to work and find ourselves buried under the here and now pressure of making it through the day.

What we forget though are those famous words, "before you can change your world, you must first change yourself". It sounds simple and almost obvious but it can be a lot harder than we think.
The future of our society, like it or not, will be digital. War and famine, politics and business are all becoming a more and more global problem. If we want to keep up not only do we have to get online we have to choose to make the online world ours. Complaining on Facebook or commenting on Twitter is a good start but we need more. We need a way to shape the internet and the digital world into a world of our own choosing.

For a long time the internet has been a a great money spinner. Even at its very beginning the enterprising were making money by selling everything from books and videos to porn and drugs. And so the internet developed a shady side before it ever developed a safer, more public minded side.
There are out there many great resources, just like in the real world, things like free libraries to help educate and elucidate, advice forums and help centres for every niche and need. While this is a great step forward it is our responsibility to make sure that these are the future and that the dark side of the net, the dodgy get rich quick schemes and the Nigerian bank scams are kept to a minimum. The best way to achieve this is to make certain that we and those who follow us are well educated.

There is no escaping it digital reality is the new norm and we are spending more and more time and money online. Which is all the more reason we should all be taking our talents, our time and our morals out onto the net but in a way that is safe and ethical and above all smart.

Be cynical but willing to try something new. Be educated but revel in learning something new. Be brave but don't forget to be kind.

It is the responsibility of every netizen to share good knowledge and to erase the scams and cons.