Netizen

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 commonly also implies an interest and active engagement in improving the internet, making it an intellectual and a social resource, or its surrounding political structures, especially in regard to open access, net neutrality and free speech. 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.