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The Theory of Digital Citizenship

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Handbook of Communication for Development and Social Change

Abstract

Increasingly new digital technologies continue to shape the ideal of participation in relation to citizenship in society. The Internet is not only a tool for engendering development and social change, but it provides spaces where this change occurs. Citizens need information for effective participation in the political, economic, and social spheres and for their ability to foster social change in these spheres. The Internet as a medium and a tool provides this information, and as such, it becomes relevant for the realization of citizenship in society. As the Internet continues to evolve technologically and culturally, concern about access to it still remains relevant to scholarly and policy discourses. The concerns about unequal access to the Internet have a historical trajectory that has evolved into many concepts, approaches, and metaphors. Examples abound: digital divide, digital inequality, digital entitlement, virtual inequality, and many others. The concept of digital citizenship is not new; it has been applied in the European and American contexts to draw attention to the importance of the Internet to citizens’ ability to participate in society. However, it remains a strong symbolic term without practical implementable framework. Through critical theoretical engagements with the concepts of citizenship, various theoretical articulations of rights, and a critical analysis of the discourse of participation, this chapter proposes a theory of digital citizenship with attendant elements that form its framework. This framework provides a guide for the pursuit of cultural, economic, and social change required for active citizenry aided by technology access. It highlights the relevance of the Internet together with other socioeconomic and political resources in shaping today’s ideal of citizenship.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Communication and Media Studies, University of Limpopo, Sovenga, South Africa

    Toks Dele Oyedemi

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  1. Toks Dele Oyedemi
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Correspondence to Toks Dele Oyedemi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Media and Communication, City University of Hong Kong Department of Media and Communication, Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Jan Servaes

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Oyedemi, T.D. (2018). The Theory of Digital Citizenship. In: Servaes, J. (eds) Handbook of Communication for Development and Social Change. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7035-8_124-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7035-8_124-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-7035-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-7035-8

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