Digital Citizenship

Digital Citizenship is the responsible and ethical use of technology and digital media.

It involves being mindful of one's online behavior and the consequences of one's actions and interactions online.

It also involves Digital Literacy, online safety, respect for others, responsible use, and digital participation.

Digital Citizenship is essential in today's world, where digital technologies and online interactions have become an integral part of our daily lives. It is important to foster a culture of responsible and ethical digital behavior to create a safe, inclusive, and empowering online environment for everyone.

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Snippet from Wikipedia: Digital citizen

The term digital citizen is used with different meanings. According to the definition provided by Karen Mossberger, one of the authors of Digital Citizenship: The Internet, Society, and Participation, digital citizens are "those who use the internet regularly and effectively." In this sense, a digital citizen is a person using information technology (IT) in order to engage in society, politics, and government. Digital Citizenship refers to the responsible use of technology and the internet. It involves following ethical norms and practices when engaging online, ensuring that individuals contribute positively to the digital world.

Key principles of digital citizenship include:

Digital Access: Ensuring equitable access to technology for all. Digital Etiquette: Practicing respectful and responsible behavior in online interactions. Digital Communication: Using digital tools to communicate effectively. Digital Literacy: Understanding how to use and evaluate digital information critically. Digital Law: Following legal standards related to online activities. Digital Rights and Responsibilities: Acknowledging online rights (privacy, freedom of expression) and responsibilities (respect, accountability). Digital Health and Wellness: Managing screen time and maintaining mental and physical health in a digital world. Digital Security: Protecting personal information and online safety. Overall, digital citizenship is about navigating the online world safely, ethically, and responsibly, while fostering a positive and inclusive digital environment.

More recent elaborations of the concept define digital citizenship as the self-enactment of people’s role in society through the use of digital technologies, stressing the empowering and democratizing characteristics of the citizenship idea. These theories aim at taking into account the ever increasing datafication of contemporary societies (as can be symbolically linked to the Snowden leaks), which radically called into question the meaning of “being (digital) citizens in a datafied society”, also referred to as the “algorithmic society”, which is characterised by the increasing datafication of social life and the pervasive presence of surveillance practices – see surveillance and surveillance capitalism, the use of artificial intelligence, and Big Data.

Datafication presents crucial challenges for the very notion of citizenship, so that data collection can no longer be seen as an issue of privacy alone so that:

We cannot simply assume that being a citizen online already means something (whether it is the ability to participate or the ability to stay safe) and then look for those whose conduct conforms to this meaning

Instead, the idea of digital citizenship shall reflect the idea that we are no longer mere “users” of technologies since they shape our agency both as individuals and as citizens.

Digital citizenship is the responsible and respectful use of technology to engage online, find reliable sources, and protect and promote human rights. It teaches skills to communicate, collaborate, and act positively on any online platform. It also teaches empathy, privacy protection, and security measures to prevent data breaches and identity theft.

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