Educatie pentru cetatenie digitala / Digital Literacy and Citizenship in the 21st Century

The technological explosion, communication and information possibilities, entertainment, commerce, etc., with the help of mobile devices and the Internet, not only offer us new challenges and opportunities, but also directly affect our position and role as citizens, our lives, day by day becoming more influenced and connected to the digital world. Although we are experiencing a profound change, we also must face a confusing, overwhelming reality, if we do not know how to handle it correctly. This is the reason why in this article, we aim to illustrate synthetically, possible content suggestions for the courses in order to get the minimum or more advanced digital skills, which will allow all students to be prepared to face the digital challenges.

Therefore, we suggest that each student be taught about digital citizenship, either in a separate training module, or incorporated in the curriculum of diverse disciplines (both at bachelor and master programmes). In this respect, it is compulsory that every teacher should know the three principles of a digital citizenship, defined by Ribble (2015), each having three sub-themes or elements: Respect (Digital Etiquette, Digital Access, Digital Law), Educate (Digital Communication, Digital Literacy, Digital Commerce) and Protect (Digital Rights and Responsibility, Digital Security, Digital Health and Welfare).

„Respectˮ, „Educateˮ, and „Protectˮ are key principles both in the digital and in the real world. We consider these principles compulsory for any teacher, to help students be ready for the digital challenges. By understanding and operating these components / topics, students will learn how to be safe, social and savvy online. In addition, digital citizenship involves putting these principles into practice by using them in daily activities, considering common values such as involvement, solidarity, equality, dignity, security and respect, both for themselves and those around them.

Why a digital citizenship?

Today, a digital citizen is a person who, by developing a set of skills, is / will be able to be actively, positively and responsibly engaged in both real and virtual communities, locally, nationally and globally (CIET, 2018). In this way, digital citizenship becomes a comprehensive concept aimed at preparing anyone to be able to use information and communication technologies (ICTs) in a responsible, efficient and effective way, benefiting from the opportunities that a digital society can facilitate, and, at the same time, being aware of the risks they can be exposed to. Thus, it becomes obvious that digital citizenship is more than a set of resources and rules constantly updated on the responsible and efficient use of ICTs, while being an educational instrument, with rules and principles that are correlated, and which can be transposed into the current activities that any individual carries out in a society increasingly dominated by technology.

Almost no one doubts that training is needed to ensure active citizenship in a digital world. Therefore, for any person or institution interested in developing training courses in the field of digital citizenship, it is important to know the key areas on which such training is based. One way to organize and incorporate digital citizenship into education is by strengthening its principles of Respect, Education and Safety / Protection (REP), as well as the elements embodied in each of these principles (Ribble, 2015). The REP Triad is tailored to prepare a citizen for active, safe, but also responsible participation, both in offline and online communities. Moreover, since technologies are in continuous evolution, the competences acquired will help citizens have a responsible online behavior in the communities in which they are active, both now and in the future (Ribble, 2015). Each of the three principles is organized around three themes, incorporating nine essential elements. For each of these, training can be carried out, as follows (Ribble and Park, 2019):

 ·         Respect (both for oneself and others), with the following components: (a) Digital access - not everyone has the same opportunities in relation to technology. These may vary depending on different socio-economic factors, location, physical conditions, etc. People who have benefitted from better opportunities in terms of access should be more involved in helping those with fewer opportunities. (b) Digital etiquette - any online user should understand that the way he uses ICTs has an impact not only on himself, but also on the other people’s digital footprint, whether it's a text, audio or video message. (c) Digital law - the ease with which technologies and applications specific to online information and communication can be used has caused some problems, such as data theft, harassment, etc., not knowing or ignoring the fact that even for reprehensible online behaviors there is legislation that punishes these deviations.

·         Education, both for oneself and others, focusing on the components: (a) Digital literacy - facilitated by technology, learning can occur anytime, anywhere, from information from friends, family or other contacts that are made in the online environment. However, we must remain vigilant in critically analyzing this online content and, more than that, be aware that technology is evolving, just as our competencies should be continually updated. (b) Digital communication - represents the digital exchange of information. Depending on their own communication needs, each user will have to identify the way / ways in which he will express his messages, so that his "voice" is heard by the targeted audience. (c) Digital commerce - nowadays, technologies allow us to sell and buy products anywhere in the world. With all the benefits it offers, we must also be aware of the shortcomings and risks behind these types of transactions, which may affect us.

 ·         Digital security / protection, for both your own person and those around us, including: (a) Digital rights and responsibilities - they are extensions of the real ones applied to the digital sphere. Each person must know what rights and responsibilities they have in the online environment, in order to protect themselves and to be active, responsible citizens involved in society. (b) Digital security - being digital citizens means that we also have responsibilities regarding the protection and security of our data and of those around us. Failure to take these obligations into account, means exposing ourselves, and others with whom we are in contact, to the risks of intrusion by other online users. (c) Digital health and well-being - beyond the opportunities provided by technologies, they also have adverse effects. In this regard, we must maintain a balance between real life and that dominated by technology, for example, by establishing usage limits and offline interactions with family and those in our circle of knowledge.

Thus, the three principles, explored through nine distinct domains, address various components of digital citizenship. By understanding and operating these components / themes, a digital citizen will be able to respect, educate and protect themselves and others in the online environment. In addition, digital citizenship involves putting these principles and related issues into the practice of daily activities, considering common values such as involvement, solidarity, equality, dignity, security and respect for both themselves and those around them.

A first conclusion that emerges is that, any person who browses online and / or regularly uses ICT, has at least a dual citizenship, namely national citizenship and digital citizenship, the latter being less known and explored. As in the case of active citizenship the digital citizenship involves specific skills and abilities, participation and responsibility, rights and duties. In this sense, the purpose of this article is to explore the nine minimum elements of the REP principles, which any digital citizenship course should include, providing answers to questions such as:

 ·         Respect: Who has / does not have digital access and why? What factors prevent a citizen from becoming a digital user? Is the inter-generational digital divide an obstacle to mastering new technologies? Is there a code of good manners on the Internet? What are the rules of good behavior when writing text, posting a picture, or sharing a video sequence? What are the risks and how do we deal with them?

 ·      Education: Do young people / adults know how to manage a media-saturated society? How can we develop our digital communication skills? What kind of digital knowledge and skills do we need for digital literacy? How can we improve our digital literacy? Do we have the ability to critically and effectively use digital media? What kind of difficulties do we face in the online environment and how do we overcome these obstacles? Do we understand the new digital paradigm and its transformative role? What is financial education in a digital world and why do we need it? Do we know how to recognize and use the products and services of the digital economy (electronic payments via mobile phone, electronic wallet, Internet banking, online brokers, crowdfunding, etc.)? Are we prepared to face the digital financial risks (phishing, spyware, SIM card swap, profiling and hacking based on digital traces, etc.)? Do we know how to use financial risk control tools (data theft protection, PIN protection, etc.)? What are the rights of consumers and what kind of remedial procedures exist in the digital sphere?

·      Safety/Protection: What are digital rights and responsibilities? What is the privacy and protection of personal data? Can we identify the problems we face (how online rights and freedoms are threatened)? How are the responsibilities assumed? What obligations exist? What is digital security? Do we know what cyber threats are (malware, hacking, etc.)? Do we know what measures to take (how to protect ourselves?)? Do we know how to use the right security tools for security and (self)-digital protection? What are digital health and well-being? How can technology influence health / well-being? What is the influence exerted by the new digital media on health behavior? What does a "healthy" relationship with technology mean? How can users whose lives are increasingly dominated by technology and especially mobile devices (smartphones, smartwatch) and / or gadgets have healthy digital habits? What can we do? What are the ways in which we can support the development of literacy skills for digital health and well-being?

Thus, it can be noted that, depending on the interests of the users and the purposes for which they want to become familiar with these concepts, each of the nine domains can be approached individually, but at the same time integrated, outlining the portrait of a global digital citizenship.

DIGITAL ACCESS. According to the report "Digital 2019: Global Digital Overview", released in January 2019, over 56% of the world's population was online. If we refer to 2018, the increase in the number of online users is amazing, every day the online population adding almost 1 million new users globally, a trend registered in 2019, when only within 3 months, the online population reached 58% of total global population.

According to the United Nations (UN, 2011), Internet access, whether done at home or elsewhere, has become a fundamental right of all citizens. However, despite the technological developments and infrastructure needed to access the digital and / or online environment from any type of device, not everyone has access to the Internet. We are talking about the "digital divide", a notion associated with increasing differences between the less privileged members of a society (especially poor, rural, elderly or disabled people) and those with higher incomes, living in urban or suburban areas, having and using computers and other types of devices to access the Internet.

DIGITAL ETIQUETTE. It is defined as a set of appropriate and acceptable rules regarding the online behavior of users (Ribble, 2015). A related term is commonly found for the plural form, "online ethics", which refers to the acceptable use of digital resources in an online social environment.

Thus, as in any society, in the digital world, we should follow the rules of good behaviour, which are applicable to everyone, regardless of age, geographical location, socio-economic status, disability, etc. Digital etiquette primarily refers to respect, either for yourself, for the person next to you, or for the person "behind" the screen. Moreover, digital etiquette is not something that we should take lightly, it is absolutely necessary in terms of our online identity.

DIGITAL LAW. The Internet is a public space, and its explosive growth determined the necessity of a definition for legal issues when you are either working on the Internet or just having an online presence / identity. Even though the Internet has become, in a relatively short time, a democratic environment, in which millions of individuals operate without limits and discrimination, as in any democracy, there are many users who understand freedom of expression otherwise and, for various reasons, break the rules (sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally, but becoming criminals). Therefore, it is important for each person to know what protection and prevention measures exist, what information and advice on the meaning of these rights and freedoms in practice exist in the Internet space, how they can be exercised, as well as the access procedure in appeals etc.

DIGITAL COMMUNICATION can be regarded as the ability to create, evaluate, present and communicate digital content, using a variety of technologies. It involves the use, manipulation and adaptation of digital media content to effectively express ideas to others (Eynon, Klages and Vianna, 2013). Digital communication includes multimedia forms of expression, such as text, images and / or video, but also different platforms for digital social media interaction, which explicitly facilitate discussion flows, instant messaging between two or more people, and other types of participatory activities.

DIGITAL LITERACY. If literacy refers to the individual's ability to write and read at a minimal, but satisfactory level, to understand and use written communication in traditional environments, digital literacy refers to the same skills transposed into the digital environment.

In 2003, UNESCO defined literacy as "the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and calculate, using printed and written materials, associated with variable contexts. It involves a continuous learning process that allows the individual to achieve his / her goals, develop his / her knowledge and potential and to really get involved in the community he is part of and in the larger society ”(UNESCO, 2004, p. 13). Just as literacy is important for the efficient functioning of people in a society, so digital literacy is the link between a digital citizen and his or her active participation in contemporary digital society.

DIGITAL COMMERCE. The penetration of the “terrible child” of the twentieth century, the Internet, in daily life and activity, represented not only a fundamental and irreversible change for everyone, but also led to the creation of an economy based on the intrinsic qualities of the Internet, the net-economy, in which technology connects anyone to anything and where communication, standards and open markets dominate (Grosseck, 2006). We are talking more and more about tele-work, digital worker, digital workforce, digital jobs, virtual organizations, e-commerce, electronic transactions, etc. In other words, we are talking about a digital economy in which we find almost all types of online resident businesses, in direct connection with innovation, globalization and sustainable development and which "has a great potential to increase productivity, income and social welfare" (Folea, 2018).

In the broadest sense, digital economic literacy falls within the concepts of economic literacy and financial education, but it has its unique aspects, due to the nature of the products and the risks involved in the digital environment (Chetty et al, 2017; OECD, 2018). Although some previous studies (for example, OECD 2017) have described various aspects of digital financial literacy, there is still no standardized definition of digital economic literacy (OECD, 2019). Therefore, it is necessary to teach the students the basic elements of digital literacy (Morgan, Huang and Trinh, 2019): a) knowledge of digital financial products and services (electronic payments through mobile phone, electronic wallet, Internet banking, online brokers, crowdfunding etc.); b) awareness of digital financial risks (phishing, spyware, SIM card swap, profiling and hacking based on digital traces, etc.); c) control of financial risks (protection against data theft, PIN, etc.), as well as d) knowledge of consumer rights and remediation procedures.

DIGITAL RIGHTS AND RESPONSABILITIES. The phrase "digital rights and responsibilities" refers to those freedoms extended to everyone in a digital world (access, use, creation, distribution, publication of digital content, using various electronic devices or communications networks), as well as assuming responsibility, respecting the rights of others, not to violate them in the activities carried out in virtual spaces.

DIGITAL SECURITY. Along with the remarkable advantages, the Internet has also opened a real Pandora's Box of legal issues, which must be considered very carefully. We need to know what kind of risks are involved, such as the use of unlicensed software from unauthorized sources, the poor security of personal data, computer frauds, insecure banking transactions, phishing, spamming, unauthorized access to social networks / or e-mail accounts, the inclusion of abusive clauses in the contracts closed online, mass surveillance and censorship, privacy violation while processing personal data, and so on. Basically, it is necessary for any person to have a minimum knowledge of digital security, to be able to detect the threats that appear, and to use the most suitable tools for data protection.

DIGITAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING. We live in an era where technology has produced major effects on the health field, and the Internet (especially through its social media contributions) has become a good barometer of the paradigm shift in health and well-being. Digital health is a term used to cover almost everything related to the health / care field assisted by the new information and communication technologies or, more popularly, "medicine from / on the Internet". On the other hand, digital well-being represents that state of well-being, both physical and psychological, intellectual, social, moral of the users of the digital world, which involves both creating and maintaining a "healthy" relationship with technology.

Therefore, in any digital citizenship course, it is necessary to introduce basic elements through which students will be taught how to take care of their own health and digital well-being in digital environments.

*

As we have seen throughout this notes, digital citizenship is an umbrella term used to describe a range of topics related to digital access, responsible use of technology, digital financial literacy, digital footprints, and even physical and psychological well-being. It is clear that digital citizenship can take different forms, being considered and approached in different ways by different people. What is important, however, is the recognition that, in order to progress in the new digital society / economy, we need new knowledge and skills, based on the digital age. The digital citizenship model outlined in this paper brings a modern approach to the attention of all the teachers / trainers, managing to turn a technical specialization process into a dynamic, efficient and relevant experience, for the formation of generations of responsible and active citizens.