Digital Citizenship

Digital citizenship means making safe, smart, and respectful choices when you learn, create, play, talk, or share online. This page includes videos, tips, and resources to help students and families learn about digital citizenship and build healthy online habits.

Social Media Safety

Social media can help students learn, connect, share ideas, and be creative. It can also create risks. New York City passed Local Law 83 to help students use social media safely and responsibly. 

The law requires schools to give students age-appropriate information and resources that help them:

• Understand the risks of social media
• Spot false or misleading information online
• Prevent and reduce harm from social media

Students and families can use the resources below to learn together, talk about online experiences, and make informed choices.

Social Media Safety Videos

Students from the 2026 Summer Design Institute at Motion Picture Technical High School created the public service announcements listed below, accessible at this playlist , to help young people make informed choices online:

1. Digital Well-Being: I Thought It Was Just Me.
2. Source Verification and Literacy: Think, Check, Trust.
3. Safety and Cyber-Resilience: Words Have Weight, Drop the Hate!
4. AI and Responsible Use: DUDE, That's AI!
5. Digital Balance and Healthy Habits: Talk to You Later, Balance Together!

Watch Learn Talk Think Act

When watching the videos , students and families can use these five steps to learn about those challenges and make thoughtful choices online:

1. Watch the videos together
2. Learn ways to stay safe online
3. Talk about social media, artificial intelligence, and information you find  online
4. Think about how your online actions affect you and others
5. Act with kindness, respect, and responsibility online and in person

Make Safe Choices Online

Read the NYCPS Student Social Media Guidelines and Guidance on Artificial Intelligence and Screen Time . They explain how students can protect their privacy, treat others with respect, and use technology in healthy ways.

Students can:

• Follow school rules for technology use
• Protect personal information and passwords
• Think before posting, sharing, or commenting
• Check whether information is true before sharing it
• Report bullying, harassment, threats, or other unsafe behavior
• Create healthy habits for technology and screen time
• Ask their school’s Respect for All Liaison, librarian, or technology teacher how they can learn more about digital citizenship and staying safe online 

Families can:

• Talk regularly about online experiences
• Set clear expectations together
• Help children check information before trusting or sharing it
• Make sure children know which trusted adults they can ask for help
• Contact their school’s Respect for All Liaison, librarian, or technology teacher to learn how the school teaches digital citizenship and how families can support safe and responsible technology use at home 

Get Help

If something online feels unsafe, threatening, or uncomfortable:

• Tell a parent, caregiver, teacher, counselor, librarian, or another trusted adult
• Use the platform's tools to block or report harmful content or accounts
• Save messages or screenshots if it is safe to do so
• Email RespectForAll@schools.nyc.gov
• Call Respect for All at 212-374-2350

Resources for Families

These resources can help families talk about social media, online safety, media literacy, AI, and healthy technology use.

Common Sense Media

• Parents' Ultimate Guides : Learn about popular apps, games, social media platforms, streaming services, and new technologies.
• Carpool Common Sense Conversations : Use conversation starters to discuss online experiences and digital life.
• Family Tech Planners : Create healthy technology habits and family expectations.
• Phone Ready? Interactive Tool : Decide whether a child is ready for a first smartphone.

New York City Public Schools

• Parent Social Media Guide for Students : Find tips for supporting safe and responsible social media use.
• Guidance on Artificial Intelligence and Screen Time : Read NYCPS guidance on AI, healthy screen time, and age-appropriate technology use.
• Cybersecurity Awareness : Find tips on passwords, phishing, privacy, safe Wi-Fi, and QR codes, plus multilingual family guides, checklists, games, and quizzes.
• NYCPS Discipline Code : Learn about student rights, responsibilities, and expectations for safe, respectful, and responsible behavior in school and online.
• Internet Acceptable Use and Safety Policy : Review the rules and expectations for using NYCPS technology, internet access, and digital tools safely and responsibly.
• Student Social Media Guidelines : Learn how to build a positive digital footprint, protect your privacy, think before you post, and make safe and respectful choices on social media.

Keep Learning and Talking

Building healthy digital habits takes practice. Keep learning, keep talking, and ask a trusted adult for help when something online does not feel right.