网民，又称乡民等，泛指网络用户，国际电信联盟、各地域的网络信息中心及跨国的世界网络调查研究计划有宽紧不同程度的定义，来方便进行网民的人口统计以形成对互联网发展的政策参考及学术研讨。中国互联网络信息中心公布的《中国互联网络发展状况统计报告》把过去半年内使用过互联网的6周岁以上的中国居民定义为网民。而市场咨询公司comScore则是把15岁以下使用家庭或者工作电脑访问过互联网的用户定义为网民。

网民在大众媒体的用法较无明确的定义，通指使用网络的特定民众。

The term Netizen is a portmanteau of the words Internet and citizen as in "citizen of the net". 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. Netizens are also commonly referred to as cybercitizens, which has similar connotations.
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.