Abstract
The article focuses on child personality development in an urban environment shaped by digital transformation. Traditionally, digitalisation of urban environment is seen as an important resource for ensuring a high quality of life in the city, maximizing the preservation and growth of human capital and stimulating sustainable economic development. However, the analysis of the smart city as a space for socialisation opens up new perspectives for understanding the digital elements of this environment. Based on qualitative and quantitative research, the article discusses the risks and opportunities for young people’s socialisation in a digital city. An important socio-psychological feature of digital citizens is their strong dependence on digital technology in their behavioural patterns and habits. At the same time, people’s immersion into the digital environment is uneven. Based on the extent of regular digital technology use, two types of digital citizens can be distinguished: “digital immigrants” and “digital natives”. The article aligns these properties of the individuals living in digital cities and the metrics of city’s child- and adolescent-friendliness: freedom of mobility, other features of urban interaction, urban ecology and the cultural and aesthetic role of the urban environment. Based on this analysis, the article identifies some key advantages and risks of the digital city as a space for socialisation. The primary threat connected to child’s personal development in a digital city lie the growing alienation and misunderstanding between generations, i.e. the conflict between digital natives and digital migrants. On the other hand, the advantages of a digital city include the wide availability of education and creative development resources, opportunities for children and adolescents’ active participation in the life of the city as well as multiculturalism and growing “digital trust” in young people.
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