"Beyond the Safety Net: Reimagining Digital Citizenship in 2025"
When 14-year-old Maya launched her viral TikTok series that highlighted racial bias within school dress codes, she was not merely producing content – she was transforming the concept of digital citizenship. While the focus on cyber safety prevails in educational policies and platform regulations, recent events such as the unprecedented online mobilization amid global protests and the COVID-19 pandemic have illustrated that digital citizenship encompasses much more than simply being safe online. This article explores how our perception of digital citizenship needs to adapt to incorporate participatory democracy while recognizing the intersectional experiences present in digital environments.
The Three Faces of Digital Control McCosker's (2016) examination uncovers how digital citizenship is influenced by three interconnected layers of authority: governmental regulation, platform governance, and educational initiatives. Recent occurrences exemplify these interactions remarkably. Take, for instance, Meta's Oversight Board - a quasi-judicial entity making content moderation decisions that impact billions of users. In January 2025, their decision regarding AI-generated political content highlighted how platform governance is increasingly intertwined with democratic processes (Meta Oversight Board, 2025).
However, these control systems frequently fall short in addressing the varied needs of digital citizens. As Choi and Cristol (2021) contend, acknowledging intersectionality is vital for grasping how different groups navigate and engage in digital spaces. The #BlackLivesMatter movement's digital strategies have illustrated how marginalized communities can harness social media for systemic transformation, despite enduring increased surveillance and moderation (Freelon et al., 2024).
Towards Participatory Democracy Conventional cyber safety frameworks, while significant, risk fostering what Heath and Marcovitz (2019) refer to as a "digital citizenship of compliance" instead of empowerment. Consider the differing approaches of two prominent initiatives in 2024:
The EU's Digital Citizenship Framework: Primarily concentrates on protection and risk management
The "Digital Democracy Project": Highlights active participation and collective action
As we navigate an increasingly intricate digital landscape, we must ponder: How can we strike a balance between essential protections and the necessity for authentic digital involvement? Maya's TikTok activism indicates that young individuals are already discovering inventive methods to assert their digital citizenship. Perhaps it is time for our frameworks and policies to align with their reality.
Choi, M. & Cristol, D. (2021) 'Digital citizenship with intersectionality lens: Towards participatory democracy driven digital citizenship education', Theory Into Practice, 60(4), pp. 361-370. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2021.1987094
Heath, M. & Marcovitz, D. (2019) 'Reconceptualizing digital citizenship curricula: Designing a critical and justice-oriented digital citizenship course', in K. Graziano (ed.) Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference. Las Vegas: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education, pp. 665-672.
McCosker, A. (2016) 'Managing Digital Citizenship: Cyber Safety as Three Layers of Control', in Negotiating Digital Citizenship: Control, Contest and Culture. London: Rowman & Littlefield International.
