thumb | right | alt=alt=Refer to caption | Area cartogram showing Internet users in East Asia, 2008

The term netizen is a portmanteau of the English words internet and citizen, as in a "citizen of the net" or "net citizen." It describes a person actively involved in online communities or the Internet in general.

The term also commonly implies an interest and active engagement in improving the internet, making it an intellectual and a social resource, The term was widely adopted in the mid-1990s as a way to describe those who inhabit the new geography of the internet. Internet pioneer and author Michael F. Hauben is credited with coining and popularizing the term.

==Determining factor==<!--/Explanations from ... on what a Neitzen is-->

In general, any individual who has access to the internet has the potential to be classified as a netizen. In the 21st century, this is made possible by the global connectivity of the internet. People can physically be located in one country but connected to most of the world via a global network. Netizens are not individuals who go online for personal gain or profit, but instead actively seeks to make the internet a better place.

Besides, lurkers seemed to be more critical of the technological elements enabling communities whereas posters appeared to be more critical of users who hampered community creation by making rude or unpleasant comments. Additionally, discussions indicate that both lurkers and posters had distinct motives for lurking and might modify their engagement behaviours based on how they understand the community from various online groups, despite the fact that engagement between those who post and those who lurk was different in the communities studied.

==In China==<!--or "Usage of the term/word in China?-->

In Mandarin Chinese, the terms wǎngmín (, literally "netizen" or "net folks") and wǎngyǒu (, literally "net friend" or "net mate") are commonly used terms meaning "internet users", and the English word netizen is used by mainland China-based English language media to translate both terms, resulting in the frequent appearance of that English word in media reporting about China, far more frequently than the use of the word in other contexts.

Netizen Prize

The international nonprofit organisation Reporters Without Borders awards an annual Netizen Prize in recognition to an internet user, blogger, cyber-dissident, or group who has helped to promote freedom of expression on the internet.

==See also==<!--(could also be renamed to "related concepts")-->

  • Digital citizen – citizens (of the physical space) using the Internet as a tool in order to engage in society, politics, and government participation
  • Digital native – a person who has grown up in the information age
  • Netiquette – social conventions for online communities
  • Cyberspace – the new societal territory that is inhabited by Netizens
  • Information Age
  • Internet age
  • Internet culture
  • Network society
  • Active citizenship – the concept that citizens have certain roles and responsibilities to society and the environment and should actively participate
  • Social Age
  • List of Internet pioneers – those who helped erect the theoretical and technological foundation of the Internet (instead of improving its content, utility or political aspects)
  • Participatory culture – a culture in which the public does not act merely as consumers and voters, but also as contributors, producers and active participants

References

Further reading

  • The Mysterious Netizen