On developing a better digital citizenry

The rapid rate of change of new communications technologies and the ever present global media industry, has forced almost everyone to be constantly connected to at least one social media platform and to be exposed to, and engaged with, modern digital culture. There are more choices for information and entertainment than at any point in human history. Yet, despite massive choice, we are becoming increasingly more siloed in where we go for information, creating an echo chamber that reinforces our own viewpoint.

Electronic media, which differs from static media printing, is the media that is shared on the Internet through various platforms using electronic devices and other nontraditional sources. E-media is broadcast to the wider community and content ranges from written and auditory, such as text, audio, chats, podcasting, infographics, video conferences; to visual content such as images, animation, video, and games. 

The E-media landscape includes all: The good, the bad, and the ugly. There are scientific, educational, and cultural content on the one hand, and the ultraviolent and sexually explicit content on the other. There are rich academic sites and sources of communication and knowledge.  There are also widely spread misinformation outlets, gossip-mongering blogs, and dangerous cyber activities. These can, and do lead to accelerating online marketing of both healthy and unhealthy products to hate sites that promote prejudice, sexism, racism and terrorism. The footprints these leave in the world have a physical and psychological impact on the individual and the wider community. 

There is the emergence of participatory culture and its influence on personal, social, cultural, and civic activities in this digital age. It is a culture of members with increasing momentum to celebrate creative expression and contributions, to expand civic engagement, to transcend across experiences and creations as part of cultural transmission, and tap into their intercultural competences and borderless connections to grow the production–distribution relationships. It is through this culture that members bond over their preference of cultural content expanding Robert K. Merton term “role model” and theory of reference group. The echo chamber creates a powerful structure, reinforced by belief and sustained interaction.

Eventually, one begins to consider such free flow of information and the free market of civic culture exchange and bonding as part of the global movement towards developing and constantly refining digital citizenship. Needless to say, many governments and international organisations have proposed and advanced various policies and initiatives to equip people with the knowledge and skills to progress toward and thrive in this digital age.  Providing people with access to relevant and credible information, needed to help them make reasonable decisions and enable them to effectively participate in contemporary societies. Developing digital citizenship and inevitably strengthening the capacity of individuals to participate as both producers and consumers, enhances the level of debate and reflection upon events and issues of relevance, thus in turn, reinvigorating the content culture. An approach that is consistent with constructivist education as Paolo Freire, an education scholar, once described “a concept of women and men as conscious beings... and with the posing of the problems of human beings in their relations with the world”. Unquestionably a well-developed digital citizenry leads to better skills to identify layers of personal, corporate and political agendas within this ever-evolving participatory culture, digital socialisation and the free flow of information. 

The process of identity formation and refining digital habits, norms, functions and ongoing practice does not fall away from functionalist paradigm. It involves a full range of emotional, cognitive, and social competencies with improved skills of critical and ethical thinking, analysis, reflection and expression. Citizens start to feel free to contribute. They become empowered to use and exert their rights under the law and attempt to solve problems in their communities.

In media and information-rich communities; technology-saturated societies; knowledge-based economies; developing communities, citizens need constant support to improve active civic participation. Ethical creation and critical consumption of contents, necessitates the collaborative efforts of diverse experts in sociology, literature and humanities, education, public health, human development and psychology, cultural studies, information science, journalism and communication. National initiatives, systematic planning and a spiral of empowering, guidance and support strategies are needed.