Digital Citizenship and Digital Literacy in the Conditions of Social Crisis

Abstract

In the present day, Internet technology and social media totally dominate as a means of communication. The media and social interaction have a two-sided nature, as the important role is not only those of the media messages to the users, but of the users to the media, too. This article aims to present the dominant importance of digital media, digital literacy transformation into a precondition for social inclusion, and an indicator of professional competence and social skills. Digital citizenship is a term that reflects the level of training and competencies, with a view to active participation in social, professional, and civic life. The article is based on two methods: Focus groups that were conducted in late 2019, which includes: Students, young mothers, pensioners, and unemployed. The second method used is the documents analysis—publications, materials, and quantitative results of research on social reactions to digital media as a source of information in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The combination of materials and data that have been analyzed are related to the period of the lockdown between March 2020 and December 2020. In the time of global social crises and confrontations, digital media literacy has turned out to be of critical importance for the normal course of social events and their interpretations. In this regard, digital citizenship contributes to social understanding and control, as well as the individual practices in the global pandemic trajectory.