Reading: What are the key skills to be an active digital citizen?
Digital spaces are becoming more and more complex, especially in terms of the rights and responsibilities that we all have when living, playing, working and learning online. This complexity underscores the need for citizens to be aware of and properly understand their own online rights and responsibilities and those of others. Knowing about issues such as digital privacy and digital identity (and possessing the skills to manage these issues) is fundamental to be a responsible and active digital citizen, and also to be safe on the internet. Even if people feel increasingly at home on the web, research shows a growing disparity between young people’s online behaviour and their perceptions of the risks associated with information disclosure. These risks may arise from self-display of personal information, confidence in online relationships, and confusing or poorly designed site settings.
Let’s look in more detail at what those skills are. UNICEF has developed a Curriculum on Digital Activism [1] that identifies skills related to:
- Digital Footprint, which means understanding what information you leave behind on the web.
- Online Identity, that is how you present yourself online and how you ‘curate’ your online self.
- Digital Privacy, that is how to reclaim your privacy online.
- Digital Information Bubbles, connected with the diversity of who you choose to follow and be influenced by.
All these concepts are rather new, and need new skills to be mastered. In the next units, we will explore these skills in detail.
References
[1] UNICEF. https://www.unicef.ie/our-work/schools/global-issues/digital-activism/