Internet citizenship sounds like one of those ambiguous terms that, originally, mean nothing and then eventually end up in a Merriam-Webster. Like sure, it sounds like a thing but is it really a thing? Regardless of whether or not this term is a "thing", let's talk about it.
We all know what the internet is. Hell, you're reading this post on the internet. I'm not saying we can define it off the top of our heads, but we get the jist of the concept. Citizenship, though. That's something that history teachers have been trying to drill into young minds since day one. Citizenship is defined as "the character of an individual viewed as a member of society; behavior in terms of duties, obligations, and functions of a citizen". Well, that sounds pretty spot on to me. To be a citizen it to be a part of a collective whole and have a duty to your fellow citizens to protect and honor.
With this in mind, I personally think that "internet citizenship" is to not only be a member of the billions of users on the internet, but to also respect those who are also citizens. Of course, every website has rules and regulations but then there is also the moral responsibility. We all want to be free on the internet, be whoever it we want to be without being shunned because others don't like it. But at the same time, we are the ones doing the shunning because we don't agree with who someone else is.
I have a duty, you have a duty, we all have a duty to respect the uses of the next person. If someone likes to read fanfiction of an OTP you don't agree with, leave it alone. It does not affect you nor anyone else. If someone is using the deep dark web to watch child pornography, then yeah. Report that. That's creepy and illegal. As long as we are not disregarding another human beings legal rights or stealing their creativity (works of art, literature, etc), mind your business. Don't be one of those cyberbullies whose only purpose in life is to make other people feel bad. Just go to a different webpage, it's not that hard.
If I had to generalize this entire post, I'd say: don't be a dick. Respect other users and hope they have the decency to respect you in return. Treat the internet like it's a country with its own government . Yeah, we're "free" to do what we want but follow the rules. Respect your common man, mind your business, and don't steal.
