Tag: digital civility

Teens and adults in the Asia-Pacific region reported an uptick in online civility and more respectful digital interactions during the COVID-19 global pandemic, results from a new Microsoft research study show. Meanwhile, respondents in Latin America said online civility worsened, punctuated by an increase in the spread of false or misleading information.

Nearly one-third (31%) of respondents in nine APAC geographies said online civility improved in the COVID-19 stay-at-home environment, a 5-percentage-points increase compared to the worldwide reading of 26%. A total of 32 geographies¹ were included in this year’s study, which was conducted in April and May. Across other regions, participants in Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, and the combined grouping of North American and Western European countries^,2 said online civility improved by smaller percentages: 30%, 17% and 20%, respectively.

Meanwhile, in Latin America, 31% said online civility declined during the crisis, topping the worldwide reading of 22% by 9-percentage points. APAC, Central and Eastern Europe, and the combined North American and Western European block, posted “worsening” percentages of 22%, 28% and 17%. (Additional details shown in the chart below.)

Worldwide (52%) and regionally, a majority of respondents said online civility was unchanged by COVID-19. Regional “unchanged” percentages break down as follows:
• APAC: 47%
• Central and Eastern Europe: 55%
• Latin America: 39%
• North America and Western Europe: 63%

Overall, results underscore that despite anecdotal reports of declining online civility during COVID-19, the global picture is more nuanced.

Five years of digital civility research

The findings come from the latest study, Civility, Safety and Interaction Online – 2020, which polled teens aged 13-17 and adults aged 18-74 about their exposure to 21 different online risks across four categories: behavioral; sexual; reputational; and personal/intrusive.³ This research builds on similar studies about digital civility that Microsoft has conducted in each of the last four years when fewer countries were included.

A total of 16,051 individuals participated in this year’s poll, and we’ve surveyed more than 58,000 people on these topics since the start of this work. Full results, including the release of the latest Microsoft Digital Civility Index (DCI), will be made available on international Safer Internet Day 2021 on February 9. The DCI is a measure of the tone and tenor of online interactions as reported by consumers in all surveyed locales. Last year, the index stood at its lowest level since the research began, indicating a high level of perceived online incivility.

Of the 26% of global respondents who thought online civility improved in April and May during COVID-19, people helping other people and a sense of “we’re all in this together” were the primary reasons behind their responses. More than two-thirds (67%) said they saw people helping others and 60% said they had a greater sense of “we’re all in this together.” Meanwhile, in APAC, nearly three-quarters of positive respondents (70%) saw people helping others, and the second most highly rated reply was people being more encouraging to one another (66%). Other positive responses in the APAC region included a greater sense of community, people coming together to deal with the crisis, and people reconnecting online with family and friends.

In Latin America (70%) and globally (67%), an “increased spread of false or misleading information” was the primary reason given by those who thought online civility had faltered during the pandemic. Other standout “worsening” responses in Latin America included “people taking out their frustrations online” and “people being less tolerant.” (Check out our factsheet on helping young people to identify misinformation and hate speech, and read about what Microsoft is doing to combat COVID-19 misinformation more broadly.)

Seven geographies added in 2020

Given the toll the global crisis was taking on people around the world both online and off, we added some special questions to this year’s study to explore the perceived impact of COVID-19 on online interactions in this fifth milestone installment of our research. That’s also why we added (or re-added) seven geographies to the 2020 study: Australia, Denmark, Philippines, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan and Thailand. (The first Microsoft Digital Civility Index reading for each of these geographies, bar Australia, will be made available on Safer Internet Day 2021. Australia’s 2020 index will be the first reading since Year Two of the study.)

And, while more of the world starts to re-open following what was truly an unprecedented event in most of our lifetimes, many of us are still working and learning from home, and practicing social distancing. These circumstances underscore the need for safer, healthier and more respectful interactions both online and off. We only need to look to last year’s research to recall what people hoped for in this new decade of the 2020s. Respondents in 25 countries said they wanted “respect,” “safety,” “freedom,” “civility” and “kindness” to define online interactions in the 2020s, and they added a few predictions for some more sensitive scenarios. A third of all respondents said they expect fewer women to be sexually harassed online, fewer teens to be bullied and online political discussions to become more constructive in the new decade.

Embrace the Digital Civility Challenge

To get back on track and help realize some of those uplifting 2020s predictions, we continue to point to our Digital Civility Challenge: four common-sense principles to help engender compassion, empathy and kindness. Everyone can commit to the challenge actions and pledge to adopt positive online habits and practices. Those actions are: Live the Golden Rule; respect differences; pause before replying; and stand up for yourself and others. Learn more about the challenge here, and visit our website and resources page for additional advice and guidance for tackling almost any online safety issue.

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¹ Countries polled in 2020 were: Argentina, Australia*, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark*, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia*, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Philippines*, Poland, Russia, Sweden*, Singapore, Spain*, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand*, Turkey, U.K., U.S., Vietnam
*Indicates country was added (or re-added) to the study in 2020

² Regional groupings are as follows:
• APAC (9) – Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam
• CEE (3) – Hungary, Poland, Russia
• Latam (6) – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru
• NA + WE (12) – Canada, U.S., Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, U.K.

³ The definiton of the four categories are as follows:
Reputational – “Doxing” and damage to personal or professional reputations
Behavioral – Being treated meanly; experiencing trolling, online harassment or bullying; encountering hate
speech and microaggressions
Sexual – Sending or receiving unwanted sexting messages and making sexual solicitations; receiving unwanted
sexual attention and being a victim of sextortion or non-consensual pornography (aka “revenge porn”)
Personal/intrusive – Being the target of unwanted contact, experiencing discrimination, swatting, misogyny, exposure to
extremist content/recruiting, or falling victim to hoaxes, scams or fraud

Tags: digital civility, digital civility challenge, Digital Civility Index, Online Safety

It’s World Kindness Day – and we’re calling on teens across the globe to assist adults with online issues. That’s because, according to our latest research conducted in 25 countries, teens are considerably better than adults at tracking down useful resources to help resolve digital difficulties.

Both demographic groups say risk is a significant problem when it comes to life online. Both also admit that finding help can be hard. Some 74% of teens and 73% of adults say online risks are a “big problem,” while 65% of teens say they know where to find useful resources, compared to just 39% of adults. Both percentages are up from last year when 60% of teens and 37% of adults said they knew where to turn for assistance. In addition, 41% of teenagers and 44% of grown-ups said tracking down resources to assist with online risks can be “somewhat to extremely” difficult.

The findings are from Microsoft’s latest research into aspects of digital civility – encouraging safer, healthier and more respectful online interactions among all people. The study, “Civility, Safety and Interaction Online – 2019,” polled teens aged 13-17 and adults aged 18-74 about their exposure to 21[1] different online risks. This latest research builds on similar studies we’ve undertaken each year for the last three years. Previous projects polled the same demographic groups in 14, 22 and 23 countries, respectively. A total of 12,520 individuals participated in this year’s study, and we’ve surveyed more than 44,000 people on these topics since 2016. Full results of this latest poll will be released in conjunction with international Safer Internet Day 2020 on February 11.

Confidence in facing online risks

While two-thirds of teens say they know where to find help with online risks, their self-assuredness in managing online risk exposure is slightly lower than that of adults. Just under half of the teens surveyed (48%) said they were confident in handling online risks versus just over half of the adults (52%). To help build those confidence levels, check out our resources guide, which offers primary and secondary sources for all 21 risks covered in our survey. Additional information about a wide  range of online activities and potential risks and harm can be found on the resources page of our website.

A lack of confidence in knowing where to find help can contribute to concerns about online risks in general. Additionally, as survey results have shown for the past few years, consequences and pain from online risk exposure are real. According to our latest findings, 71% of teens and 65% of adults are “somewhat to extremely” worried about encountering online risks, while even higher percentages of both groups have faced consequences from digital risk exposure: three quarters of teens (75%) and 77% of adults. Consequences range from declining to participate in social media and heightened stress levels, to losing trust in others online or offline, losing sleep and even contemplating suicide. This year, 14% of respondents said they had thoughts of suicide following an online issue, double the percentage from two years ago.

Microsoft’s Digital Civility Challenge

We’re making this preliminary research available on World Kindness Day to again call attention to Microsoft’s Digital Civility Challenge – four basic tenets for life online to encourage kinder, more empathetic and more respectful interactions. We’d never want to thwart debate, discussion or the free flow of ideas; it’s just important that those interactions take place free of name-calling and abuse. Specifically, we’re encouraging people to:

• Live the “Golden Rule” and treat others as you would like to be treated by leading with empathy, compassion and kindness, and affording everyone respect and dignity both online and off.
• Respect differences by honoring diverse opinions and perspectives and, when disagreements surface, engage thoughtfully by avoiding name-calling and abuse.
• Pause before replying to comments or posts you disagree with and refrain from posting or sending anything that could hurt someone, damage a reputation or threaten someone’s safety.
• Stand up for yourself and others if it’s safe and prudent to do so; report illegal and abusive content and behavior, and preserve evidence.

As we approach the close of 2019 and prepare for Safer Internet Day 2020, we’ll be ushering in not only a new year, but a new decade. We’ll kick off 2020 with a series of predictions from teens and adults about various aspects of online life over the next ten years. By embracing the Digital Civility Challenge and other common-sense habits and practices, we can help make the 2020s the safest and most respectful decade yet.

To learn more about digital civility and how you can help advance these practical ideals for online interaction, visit www.microsoft.com/digitalcivility. For more on digital safety generally, visit our website, “like” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

[1] The 21 risks span four broad categories: behavioral, sexual, reputational and personal/intrusive.

Tags: digital civility, digital safety

The new school year is well underway in many parts of the world, and parents may be inclined to share news and photos of their star pupil’s success or involvement in new activities. Before you do, however, know that teens around the world say parents share (or “sharent”) too much about them on social media – so much so that it’s become a concern for more than four in 10.

Forty-two percent of teenagers in 25 countries[1] say they have a problem with their parents posting about them on social media. Of that sum, 11% say it’s a big problem; 14% say it’s of medium concern, and 17% consider it a small issue – all according to preliminary results of a new Microsoft study about the state of digital civility today. In addition, two-thirds (66%) of teens say they’ve fallen victim to at least one online risk at some point, with the same percentage worried that a similar negative online experience will happen to them again.

The findings are from Microsoft’s latest research into aspects of digital civility — encouraging safer, healthier and more respectful online interactions among all people. The study, “Civility, Safety and Interaction Online — 2019,” polled teens ages 13-17 and adults ages 18-74 about their exposure to 21[2] different online risks. This latest research builds on similar studies between 2016 and 2018. The previous years’ projects polled the same demographic groups in 14, 22 and 23 countries, respectively. A total of 12,520 individuals participated in the 2019 study, and we’ve surveyed more than 44,000 people over four years. Full results from this latest poll will be made available on international Safer Internet Day 2020 on Feb. 11.

“Sharenting” and online risk: What’s the connection?

While our research didn’t explore any direct correlation between parents’ online behaviors and young people’s potential risk exposure, both academic researchers and financial experts have warned that such sharing puts children’s online privacy and potentially their physical safety at risk.

To share or not to share is an individual family’s decision, but if the choice is to share, parents should be attentive, exercise discretion and not inadvertently reveal too much, including children’s real full names, ages, dates of births, home addresses, mothers’ maiden names, favorite sports teams, names of pets and photos, to cite a few examples. On one hand, these individual tidbits of personally identifiable information can be misused in online social engineering schemes, culled together to make children and other young people the targets of online fraud or identity theft, or in extreme cases may even lead to online grooming. Indeed, young children and infants in particular are prime targets for credit fraud. If someone were to take out a line of credit in a child’s name, odds are the child wouldn’t discover it for more than a decade later – until they applied for their own credit cards or other loans. Meanwhile, online grooming takes place when someone builds an emotional connection with a child in order to gain the child’s trust for sexual exploitation or abuse, or recruitment to terrorist or extremist causes.

“Share with care” should be everyone’s mantra both online and off. For more on protecting your family’s online privacy, visit our digital safety resources page and see this factsheet. To learn how to stay alert to online grooming, see this link.

Teens continue to look to parents for help

In keeping with a trend identified in last year’s results, in 2019 teens continued to turn to their parents and other trusted adults for help with online issues. After jumping an impressive 32 percentage points from year two to year three, nearly half (48%) of teens surveyed this year said they’d reached out to a parent about concerns over online activities. That’s up another 6 percentage points from 2018. Just two years ago, fewer than 10% of teens said they had turned to an adult for help with online risks.

In addition, when asked about the best role models for civil and respectful behavior online, teens overwhelmingly pointed to parents (80%), followed by teachers at a distant second (49%), and other adults, athletes and celebrities at 22%, 17% and 15%, respectively.

That’s why we continue to encourage adults to:

• Become familiar with and, where appropriate, involved in young people’s online activities
• Be welcoming of and open to conversations about their online lives
• Listen and suspend judgment when approached by teens about online issues, and
• Agree on any course of action together

Three countries added to 2019 study

This year, we added three countries to the study – Indonesia, The Netherlands and Poland, and we maintained all 22 countries from the 2018 report. When we make full results available in February, we’ll also release the latest reading of the Microsoft Digital Civility Index, as well as results of what respondents anticipate and hope for in terms of digital civility and life online in the coming 2020s decade.

Microsoft’s Digital Civility Index measures the perceived level of online civility in a given country based on the reported level of risk exposure of individuals in that country. From 2016 to 2018, the Digital Civility Index held steady, averaging 66%, despite changes to both the mix of countries polled and the various risks included.

We will post at least one additional early look at some of the study’s key findings in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, to learn more about digital civility and how you can become a champion for common-sense online behaviors, visit www.microsoft.com/digitalcivility. For more on digital safety generally, visit our website; “like” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

[1] Countries surveyed: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia*, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands*, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Poland*, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam. (* Indicates the first time this country has been included in this research.)

[2] The 21 risks span four broad categories: behavioral, sexual, reputational and personal/intrusive.

Tags: digital civility, Online Safety

“Not sure if you saw my last email.”

“Any update on this?”

“Per my last email.”

Chances are at least some of those phrases are familiar. They top the list of the most irritating phrases people use in work emails, according to a study by Adobe.

The average worker spends more than three hours a day in his or her inbox – and that time is increasing. By the end of this year, we’ll be sending 293 billion emails a day globally, according to market research from the Radicati Group. By 2023, projections put that figure at 347 billion.

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In a world of growing online communications, our digital manners are ever more important.

 

In 2017, Microsoft established its Digital Civility Index, measuring people’s exposure to online risks in different types of online interactions, such as trolling, mean behavior or harassment. The index measures teen and adult perceptions about the extent to which they are at risk of damaging online interactions. It ranks 22 countries by order of online civility.

In the Digital Civility Index, the United Kingdom and the United States have emerged as strong performers, with several countries improving their standing over the past three years. However, adverse behavior is still pervasive, with people at risk from emotional and psychological damage due to their online interactions.

So how do we translate this to our own lives? Here are four practical ways to practice safer, healthier online interactions in your everyday life.

Show empathy

Think about the spirit in which a message will be read and understood, rather than seeing it from your perspective as the writer. The golden rule is to act with empathy, compassion and kindness in every interaction, treating everyone with dignity and respect.

Pause before replying

Receiving an unhelpful email at the wrong moment can easily elicit an angry, terse or sarcastic response. Never reply in anger, on the spur of the moment or with a quip that seemed funny at the time but could be misconstrued later.

Respect differences

Disagreeing with another person’s perspective is fine. It’s a matter of how that disagreement is expressed. Diverse perspectives should always be appreciated and acknowledged, and any disagreement should be about the substance of the work rather than a personal attack. Making room for differences helps to break down echo chambers and can be constructive, sparking inspiration.

Stand up for yourself and others

It’s easy to simply fire off negative feedback or delegate a whole series of tasks via email. It’s far less easy to receive such emails and find an appropriate way to respond. Lead by example by celebrating positives and make sure that you don’t perpetuate the issue by forwarding or further circulating problem emails.

For more on our Digital Civility Index and to see how you score, visit our Digital Civility Challenge site. And follow @MSFTIssues on Twitter.  

The second annual Digital Empowers Summit in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, brought together representatives from business, the technology sector, government and community organizations to highlight tech innovations for both business and social good.

The May 10 summit featured panel discussions on the future of work; health, wellness and accessibility; smart cities; and supply chain diversity and ethics. I participated in a panel on digital citizenship, a focus area that has evolved for Microsoft over the last 15 years. My fellow panelists were Lauren Culbertson, public policy manager at Twitter, and Nneka Norville, senior director for corporate responsibility at BET Networks. Our talk was moderated by David Almacy, founder of CapitalGig LLC. The panel, “Cyberheroes to the Rescue! Truth, Internet Activism, and Integrity in the Social Network Era,” allowed each company to share its work in helping to promote positive, productive and people-focused online communities worldwide.

For Microsoft, the summit offered another opportunity to discuss our work to advance digital civility – safer, healthier and more respectful online interactions among all people. This effort stems from our earlier work in digital citizenship and online safety. Research that we conducted between 2010 and 2012 in computing safety served as a springboard for our current research in digital civility. We’re entering the fourth year of our digital civility campaign and will again release survey findings – this time from respondents in 25 countries – on international Safer Internet Day 2020. The studies poll teens and adults about their exposure to more than 20 online risks across four categories: behavioral, reputational, sexual and personal/intrusive.

Our most recent findings based on research in 22 countries showed, for example, that:

• Digital civility, as measured by the Microsoft Digital Civility Index, is on the rise in several countries, including Belgium, France, Germany and the U.S.;
• Unwanted contact remains a common risk among online users, although its prevalence declined in the latest report;
• Behavioral risk types are defined by bullying, while sexual risks are driven by receiving unwelcome imagery and messages, and
• Now more than ever, teens across the globe are turning to their parents and other trusted adults for help with online risks.

These results and other related studies underscore the need for continued awareness-raising of and engagement in online safety issues, as well as common sense online habits and practices – new digital social norms – that everyone can get behind. Microsoft’s Digital Civility Challenge is a good place to start. We’re asking people to pledge to live by four basic tenets for life online, and to tell us on social media that they’re taking part. Use the hashtags #Challenge4Civility and #Im4DigitalCivility and commit to:

• Live the Golden Rule and treat each other with respect and dignity online and off
• Respect differences
• Pause before replying to something or someone you may disagree with, and
• If it’s safe and prudent to do so, stand up for yourself and others online.

(Click here to read the full Digital Civility Challenge.)

To help advance digital civility, I mentioned during the summit panel a pilot program that we created for teens in the United States. Our inaugural Microsoft Council for Digital Good, although ended last year, established a group of youth ambassadors from 12 U.S. states, who remain active on these issues today. I reunited with some of them earlier this week in D.C., when the first lady of the United States held an event at the White House, commemorating the one-year anniversary of her Be Best initiative. Be Best focuses on children’s well-being, online safety and preventing opioid abuse. The first lady spent time with each of our 15 council members last summer as she promoted her initiative and they shared their council assignments and creative works.

For more about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the Digital Empowers Summit, see the Chamber website. For additional information about online safety and digital civility, visit our website, webpage and resources page, and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Tags: digital civility, Digital Civility Index

Earlier this week, Power of Zero, a new global campaign calling for zero violence, zero hate and zero bullying from age zero launched in New York City. Microsoft was on hand to support the lead organization NoBully and to promote civility and positive online behaviors among children, young people and all digital citizens.

The launch, held at UNICEF headquarters, follows nearly two years of research and planning in conjunction with technology companies, nongovernmental organizations and other groups focused on creating a global movement to combat online bullying and harassment. Collaborative efforts began at a global strategy session in London in April 2017.

“There is growing recognition that we have to invest in our youngest children and give them the foundation they need to thrive in this interconnected world,” says Nicholas Carlisle, founder of NoBully and campaign president for Power of Zero. “Power of Zero is about making digital civility – a concept pioneered by Microsoft – global. In this launch phase, we will be able to bring ‘The 12 Powers’ to young children across North America and then extend the campaign with the help of our partners into Southeast Asia, India, Latin America and beyond.”

In partnership with Scholastic, Power of Zero is providing early childhood educators and families with learning resources to help them leverage their “powers for good.” Critical thinking, inclusivity, respect and resilience are four of the 12 powers the program recommends to help children thrive in a digital world.

As part of the launch event, Power of Zero held a panel discussion with representatives of the technology industry, as well as UNICEF. I participated on behalf of Microsoft, along with representatives from AT&T, Facebook and Hasbro, all of which are also members of Power of Zero’s steering committee. The panel was moderated by Dr. Lewis Bernstein, a longtime research and education executive from Sesame Workshop.

We discussed the risks and opportunities that children and young people face online daily, as well as the need to instill values in young people at the earliest of ages. Some key themes that emerged included the need for parents and trusted adults to be involved, early and often, in children’s online activities; that children and teens needed to be equipped – skills-wise and attitudinally – to deal with online issues like fake news, misinformation, bullying and fraud, and the belief that a true, multistakeholder effort like Power of Zero has a strong chance of breaking through and inspiring adults to invest and assist children with their online growth and development.

Microsoft’s latest research, released Feb. 5, shows that now more than ever, teens are turning to parents and other adults, including teachers, coaches and counselors for help with online issues. This finding needs to stand as a testament that kids need help navigating the online world. What a better way to help arm them than with resources like those developed by Power of Zero.

Digital civility underpins Power of Zero

Microsoft was eager to join the Power of Zero collaboration and to support the campaign for two primary reasons. First, it fills a gap by targeting as its peak demographic children who are basically online as soon as they’re able to hold a cellphone. The debate is wide open as to whether such early online activity is advisable, but there can be no debate that it is, in fact, happening. Second, Power of Zero closely aligns to our own global campaign now entering its fourth year. At Microsoft, we seek to create a “human platform” to foster digital civility, online interactions among all people that are rooted in respect, inclusivity and kindness.

Along with other campaigns and online safety activities, our digital civility work builds on some of our earlier efforts to prevent and fight back against online bullying and harassment. We’ve been committed to combatting cyberbullying for more than a dozen years, conducting research in 25 countries, creating tools and resources to help parents and others identify and address online bullying incidents, and we’ve participated in international conferences and events designed to raise awareness and share best practices among key stakeholders.

Learn more

When faced with online bullying, we encourage young people to talk to adults, and we call on adults to listen, suspend judgment and plan any response or action plan together. We also ask adults to remember to model civil and respectful behaviors both in person and online.

To learn more, visit the Power of Zero and NoBully websites, and consult these Microsoft resources: fact sheet, second fact sheet, presentation deck, research paper. For more on online safety generally, visit our website and resources page. And, for regular news and information, connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Tags: digital civility, Power of Zero

Last week, I organized a workshop on digital civility at the Marie Collins Foundation annual conference, “From Discovery to Recovery – Online Sexual Abuse of Children.” Microsoft is a sponsor of the foundation, a U.K.-based charity that directly supports children who have been sexually abused online, as well as their families.

Our session included representatives from UNICEF, The Diana Award (also representing NoBully.org), and the academic sector, in addition to Microsoft. The interactive session examined definitions and nomenclature surrounding digital civility, as well as examples from audience members of advice and guidance they’ve given to their own children and students about exercising decorum and engaging constructively online.

During the workshop, we asked participants a series of questions about the level of safety and respect on the internet; the most common and serious online risks; the chief differences between risk and harm; and as global practitioners and preventers of online harm to children (and indeed all individuals), where we should be putting our collective efforts. The responses were wide-ranging. For some, digital civility is about courtesy, respect and digital intelligence; compassion and empathy; and being mindful and aware of other people’s feelings, views and frames of reference. Others see a need to interact with a degree of politeness and to instill a “please-and-thank-you” culture into the digital realm. Still others saw civility as springing from deep-seated human values and morality and emphasized that teaching children enduring values in the real-world will see them carried through to online spaces.

Meanwhile, participants pointed to a redefining of what it means to have and to be a “friend” as a rather unwelcome by-product of life online. “Internet addiction,” a deterioration of communications skills, and an absence of parental responsibility for teaching young people good digital habits and practices were other concerns.

One leading online safety advocate said digital civility implied a rather “low bar” for positive digital interactions. Pointing to the all-too-familiar parental intervention of addressing squabbling siblings in the back seat of a car, he said the admonishment of telling them to “at least be civil to each other” was clearly a low hurdle.

Microsoft’s efforts to foster digital civility

At Microsoft, we view digital civility as leading with empathy, inclusion and kindness in all online interactions, and we aim to foster safer and healthier online behavior using our Digital Civility Challenge as a starting point. In our view, digital civility is in no way about limiting or stifling online discussion and debate. Rather, it’s about ensuring that robust exchanges and disagreement take place minus any name-calling, harassment or abuse.

We continue to champion digital civility and are in the process of fielding yet another round of research, this time in 22 countries. We’ve conducted similar studies released earlier this year and last year, both in conjunction with international Safer Internet Day in February. Our studies survey teens and adults in multiple geographies and ask about their exposure to some 20 online risks.

For the past two years, we also calculated our Digital Civility Index – a measure of the perceived level of civility in each country based on attitudes and perceptions of respondents from those countries. The current Digital Civility Index stands at 65 percent, unchanged from Year 1, despite the addition of nine countries and three risks to the Year 2 report. Accordingly, in Year 3, our research will drill down into the most common risks and concerns for respondents, namely unwanted contact – overwhelmingly the most common risk in the first two studies, as well as hoaxes, fraud and scams, which was the runner-up most common risk in Year 2, the first time it was included.

We will begin releasing Year 3 results in the autumn and make the full set of findings available on international Safer Internet Day 2019 in February.

Working together to grow a culture of digital civility      

Since its inception in 2016, we’ve regarded our focus on digital civility as a broad platform and concept for others to evangelize and embrace. Indeed, we’ve encouraged partners and collaborators among civil society organizations, academics, others in industry and governments to adopt the notion and to develop their own related initiatives, projects and programs. In its short existence, we’ve already seen follow-on research projects for other age groups and demographics, the creation of related indices and other efforts.

Our most significant development to date has been the formation and growth of our inaugural Council for Digital Good, a group of 15 teens from across the U.S., brought together to champion digital civility and safer and healthier online interactions.

For the past year, the teens have been learning about online safety issues, sharing their views and perspectives with Microsoft and our partners, and serving as youth ambassadors eager to grow a safer and more respectful online world. Everywhere I go – including last week’s conference – I highlight the informed views, unique perspectives and deep insights these teens continually impart. Next month, we will hold a more public event in Washington, D.C., featuring council members and some of the work they’ve been driving over the past several weeks. Summaries of the council’s earlier work can be found here and here.

Last week’s conference also featured government officials, law enforcement personnel, educators and other members of civil society, noting their efforts in working to prevent online child sexual exploitation and abuse and their commitment to child online protection generally.

For more about the Marie Collins Foundation, see the organization’s website. To learn about online safety and digital civility, visit our website and resources page, as well as our pages dedicated to digital civility. For more regular news and information, connect with us on Facebook and Twitter. And, consider taking our Digital Civility Challenge and tell us on social media that you’ve done so, using the hashtags #Challenge4Civility and #Im4Civility.

Tags: digital civility