WHY TEACHING DIGITAL ETIQUETTE IS URGENT AMID RISING WHATSAPP HARASSMENT

Last year, a week after the orientation at one of Hyderabad's reputed law colleges, Athai, a student from Nagaland, became part of her class's informal WhatsApp group created by students without the involvement of faculty. Unlike the official group, where only class-related subjects and assignments were discussed, this one was more casual, with students introducing themselves and sharing their hobbies.

- 

But things took a grim turn when Athai did not respond to the advances of a classmate. He began mocking her, using a derogatory term for people from the northeast, and soon influenced others to join in. Within a day, the group was flooded with comments about her hairstyle, appearance, and more. Athai exited the group, and within two days, she dropped out of the college altogether.

"I chose to return and study in Nagaland, where I'm not seen as an outsider," said Athai, recalling the incident, which occurred a year ago. What stood out was how none of her classmates intervened. Two of them admitted to The Hindu that they knew the trolling was wrong, but didn't know how to react. That hesitation, that silence, speaks to a deeper gap: the absence of digital etiquette.

Digital etiquette in Indian colleges

Digital etiquette, in this context, is about knowing how to behave online what's acceptable, what crosses the line, and when to speak up. Students step into college with complete control over their mobile phones, but little to no understanding of how to use them responsibly in shared digital spaces. Colleges in India often go all out during orientation week celebrating institutional rankings, showcasing alumni success, and highlighting placement records. Yet, in all this grandeur, there's little effort to initiate students into the basics of digital etiquette.

Digital etiquette or “netiquette,” is the code of respectful and appropriate behaviour within the digital learning environment. In the educational context, it includes good practices, from maintaining academic integrity by not plagiarizing content to exhibiting respect toward instructors and peers in online communications, as per Lincoln Learning Solutions, a nonprofit education provider that partners with schools and educators to deliver digital curriculum.