Ethics and Our Online World: Perspectives from Sixth-Grade Students

As a follow-up to our conversation with Alicia Regnault, which you can read here, we talked to some of her sixth-grade students about what they’ve learned about digital literacy and ethics. Here’s what they had to say. 

From your perspective starting Middle School, what is digital literacy? And what does that have to do with ethics? 

“Digital literacy is knowing how to use tech responsibly and knowing what you’re doing before you do it,” said Divyanshi Bansal. “It’s harder for people our age because we make very impulsive decisions and sometimes we may click, share, like, or comment on something we really shouldn’t, which is why we have this class to teach us. That’s where ethics comes in: It’s an ethical dilemma if we should or shouldn’t do something — there’s no right answer. We just have to use our best judgment.”

“Ethics teaches you how to be responsible and how to learn how to do something you’re not supposed to do or something you’re supposed to do. If you see somebody bullying, you should report it — and if it happens online, you would take a photo of it and tell a teacher or another adult,” said Viola Holmes. 

What do you hope to learn from this class, about both ethics and your online world? 

“I hope to learn how to use the internet to help me in school, and the tools to help me get better grades . . . and I also hope I can learn how to be a good digital leader so I don’t hurt anyone’s feelings online,” said Aanya Gupta.

What ethical values do you live by when you go online?

“I think about kindness and responsibility. Depending on how text or email comes off, it could affect someone’s mental health, because of things happening at home or socially,” said Melanie Hoffman. 

What’s the most impactful thing you’ve learned in class? 

“Once you put out something on social media, you can’t really delete it. Your digital footprint matters for your future,” said Brie Peterfreund.