Digital etiquette

Knigge wrote in 1788: Every man is only as valid in this world as what he makes of himself.

This means for the present: Communicating with pictures is popular - via Skype or Instagram, for example. Make your child aware that this also gives the person they are chatting to an insight into their privacy. Depending on how the computer is set up, the other person may be able to see the cluttered desk, the One Direction poster on the wall, the teddy bear on the chair or the dirty laundry strewn about.

Those who live only for themselves, without a sense of friendship, benevolence and love, remain abandoned when they long for the support of others.

The network seems anonymous, but it is not - there is a person sitting opposite. Explain to your child: «Even if you can't see or touch the other person, communicate with them as if you were sitting opposite them - politely, decently and with the same caution you would show to a stranger on the street.»

Don't bother the people you deal with with useless questions.

We are often too lazy to find an answer ourselves. Anyone who has visited a forum will realise that there is almost always a user who points out to a participant that their question has already been discussed and dealt with. Therefore: utilise the available options before producing digital waste via email, forums, comments and social networks.

Caution is even more urgently recommended in writing than in speaking [...]. A single indelible word written down [...] has destroyed many a person's peace and often the peace of a family forever.

Give your child the following advice: «Take your time to write your posts and read them carefully before you post them. Because once it's online, you often can't delete or correct it.»
Is your child angry or hurt? Letting off steam helps, and writing down the response is one way to do this. But then take a deep breath and leave the text to rest for at least two hours, preferably overnight. It is then often unnecessary to post or send the text. Because even the act of writing has a healing effect.
Spelling is also important for official messages to school or employers. It helps to read a text again on paper, even if it sounds like the day before yesterday. Lower-case nouns and whole words in capital letters are taboo. The former is difficult to read and the latter looks like you are shouting at the recipient.

Strive for perfection, but not for the appearance of perfection and infallibility!

Does your child collect likes? That's all very well, but it says nothing about friendship. Show your child that real friendship requires more than a click of the mouse. You can work on joint projects with «digital» friends and thus create closeness and uniqueness - with a swap novel or a photo duel, for example.

On Medienstark you will find tips and interactive learning modules for the competent use of digital media in everyday family life.