Civility is the ability of individuals to disagree productively with other individuals in any platform, be it in an online setting or a one on one setting. Civility is also the ability to respect others opinion, their sincerity and decency. With all this in mind, a person shows civility. Civility then does not relate to an agreement it simple means respecting one’s opinion and ability to disagree without conflict or insulting each other. For over the years the internet has been a place where civility has been ignored and people troll each other and choose to disagree with conflicts and insults. Both, ethics kindness and well mannerism have been thrown to trash in an online community. Racism and hatred have thrived well in an online setting and this is where the incitement and other kinds of extremism happens. Online civility, therefore, needs to restore in order to win back the fundamental and basic human ethics such as courtesy, kindness and respect (Han, Brazeal, & Pennington, 2018). To be civil, people must understand that each person is entitled to an opinion and that respect is key to interact with. Being civil means to be well mannered to others and the same be done to you, without discrimination.
To be civil in an online setting, therefore, means to respect people’s opinions and points. Uncivility will happen when a person expresses his opinion on a certain platform then face criticism. This will not be happening if only respect would have existed. Respect is a fundamental human value and should be practiced everywhere not only in an outside setting but also in an online setting. Online civility also means not engaging in racial slurs to people and avoiding cyberbullying. We live in an era where a person can be cyberbullied by being fat being slender, online civility means respecting people’s privacy and having the ability to disagree productively. Online civility also means being sincere and honest in a person’s online platform postings. Civility is disregarded in current times when people in social media posts and flaunts expensive things and truly none of this is true. Online civility, therefore, can also translate to honesty and other value that an individual practices in an offline setting. Cyberbullying also needs to stop to achieve online civility, cybercrimes and internet frauds need to be avoided and stopped in order to also achieve online civility. Online civility, therefore, requires people to respect the privacy of other people’s data (Han, Brazeal, & Pennington, 2018).
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The good thing about dealing with online civility is that it has similar resolutions on how to deal with crime in the streets. The solution is not by scaring people to stop online harassment but to promote online civility. This can be achieved by educating people online. Some organizations have taken a step to try to build a better online society. These organizations offer free resources among them are articles, videos and links in an aim to educate people on online civilization. An example of such an organization is CiviliNation. The organization hopes to achieve and foster an online culture where people can participate freely without harassments and bullying. The other thing that can be done to promote online civility is to engage all of the different groups in order to understand each group’s concern and ideas. In order to avoid heated discussions and debates in an online setting, an individual must remember that there are real people on the other side of the computer and that maybe they need to back off or agree to disagree in a good manner. The other thing is to avoid typing things that you cannot say to the person in an offline setting. Treat all debates and argument as if it were a face-to-face debate. The other simple thing to avoid debates and intense arguments is to say something positive or not responding at all (Rieck & Crouch, 2007).
Gun control has been a contentious issue in an online setting with lots of people having different opinions on the issue. A fraction of people want to own guns for leisure and recreational purposes while others want the strict imposition of guns and people owning guns In the United States. What types of guns should people have and their availability, when they can be carried and where they can be bought, this is some of the questions that sparked a debate in both online and offline settings. It is important to have a civil discussion about the issue because of its sensitivity and involving the lives of people. Therefore, civility has to be achieved while addressing such kind of issue. People need to understand that every person is entitled to his/her opinion and that by insulting a person or cyber bullying the person does not change his opinion. Respect among people, therefore, is a mandatory requirement while debating the issue on gun control. Being Civil about the issue can advance the understanding of people on gun control because people will have to understand the needs and why they support their stand on gun control (Rieck & Crouch, 2007).
In conclusion, online civility has caused depression in people because of cyberbullying and cybercrimes. Other organizations should also come on board in promoting and restoring online civility, and it is through online civility that issues such as gun control can be addressed effectively and everyone will be satisfied. People in online setting should practice and be ethical in what they do and how they approach issues in online platforms. Lastly, it is crucial for people to use their real names in online platforms, this can restore a little bit of discipline.
References
Han, S., Brazeal, L. M., & Pennington, N. (2018). Is Civility Contagious? Examining the Impact of Modeling in Online Political Discussions. Social Media + Society , 4 (3), 205630511879340. doi:10.1177/2056305118793404
Rieck, S., & Crouch, L. (2007). Connectiveness and civility in online learning. Nurse Education in Practice , 7 (6), 425-432. doi:10.1016/j.nepr.2007.06.006
