Instructions: 

1. Watch and listen to the 60-Second Civics video below. If you'd like, you can also read along using the script that appears below the quiz. Or you can turn on the video's subtitles and read while watching the video.
2. Take the Daily Civics Quiz. If you get the question wrong, watch the video again or read the script and try again.

Episode Description:
An important part of digital citizenship is taking responsibility for your actions on digital platforms. Part of this is knowing when to engage and when to pull back. Today we share some simple tips for acting with responsibility online!

Responsibility: Digital Citizenship, Part 5

Welcome to 60-Second Civics from the Center for Civic Education. I’m Mark Gage.

 

An important part of digital citizenship is taking responsibility for your actions on digital platforms. 

 

Part of this is knowing when to engage and when to pull back.

 

Here are some quick tips:

 

1. Participate only in conversations where you feel comfortable. In your non-virtual life, you probably wouldn’t hang out with people you don’t actually like.
   
   So why would you do this online?
   
   If a particular discussion becomes heated and is no longer productive, just stop participating instead of trying to get even or score another point.
   
   
2. Cool off. If you find yourself getting angry, put the phone down or close your laptop, step back, and do something else for a while.
   
   This will help keep you saying something that you might regret later.
   
   It’s okay to get upset, but it’s not okay to unfairly attack other people, bully them, or use profanity online.
   
   
3.  Try to find a constructive way of getting involved. It may be that certain platforms, hashtags, or conversations are not conducive to civil discourse.
   
   That’s okay.
   
   You do not have to participate on every platform.
   
   Find your particular niche—a platform and community that supports thoughtful conversation—and participate there. 

 

Finally, remember that the Framers of the Constitution believed in the value of civil discourse. 

 

We owe it to ourselves and our fellow Americans to keep the conversation civil. 

 

This is how we can build a better, more thoughtful democracy that will stand the test of time.

 

This episode was made possible by the support of T-Mobile.

 

60-Second Civics, where civic education only takes a minute.