Digital Citizenship and Social Media: A Curriculum Perspective

Abstract

The escalating speed of technological development, particularly the pervasive accessibility of the Internet and the rise of social media in the twenty-first century, creates unprecedented opportunities for empowerment and connectedness to individuals and communities. It has also brought challenges and changes to the concept of citizenship and how it is enacted. Especially, the phenomenal growth of the Internet revolutionizes people’s sociopolitical and civic engagement, engendering a more self-actualized form of citizenship (Bennett 2008), and directly influencing the process of democratization (Ferdinand 2000) and the processes of social and political decision-making. This chapter provides a brief overview on how the concept of “citizenship,” which has traditionally been inextricably tied to the geopolitical realities of specific nation states, is changing in the twenty-first century due to the pervasive impact of technology, particularly that of globalization and ubiquitous connectedness through social media. We further discuss the implications of these changes on citizenship education, in terms of the conceptualization of digital citizenship, what constitutes a digital citizenship curriculum, and the challenges in its implementation.