Digital Citizenship Can Prevent Online Cheating and Promote Academic Delay of Gratification

ABSTRACT With the fast technological innovations, the landscape of academia has evolved. The presence of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought convenience to academic activities such as for searching information and correcting grammatical errors. However, its ease of use (i.e., fast, convenient, and does not require much thinking) can potentially deter the development of students’ academic delay of gratification and may increase their tendency to commit online cheating. Without proper knowledge of online ethical behavior and digital use, students are vulnerable to succumbing to the convenience of negative AI use. In this chapter, we would like to propose that to prevent online cheating and enhance academic delay of gratification, we should promote digital citizenship (DC) to students. DC refers to the ethical and responsible use of these digital devices. Reasons for how DC competencies can hinder online cheating and endorse academic delay of gratification are discussed.