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.
Highlights
The influence of digital technologies over the structure and dynamics of social relationships fosters the study of problems related to the individual digital literacy, the importance of digital skills and information literacy, and the role of digital literacy for personal development and social integration into society
Most of the respondents in three focus groups in 2019 have been able to define and evaluate digital literacy, which is identified with gaining experience of a skill or a group of skills, that most often include the ability to use computers and smartphones; the ability to work on various programs in Windows, information search on the Internet, Facebook, Viber, and Skype
The main prerequisite for digital citizenship is the digital skills of individuals
Summary
The influence of digital technologies over the structure and dynamics of social relationships fosters the study of problems related to the individual digital literacy, the importance of digital skills and information literacy, and the role of digital literacy for personal development and social integration into society. In Bulgaria, as part of Europe, there have been developed and implemented relevant practical projects, documents, and guidance aiming information and gaining experience of digital skills of individuals in the knowledge society. The aim of this article is to present the dominant importance of digital media, the transformation of digital literacy into a precondition for social inclusion and an indicator of professional competence and social skills. On this basis, digital citizenship is a term that reflects the level of training and competence, in order to actively participate in social, professional, and civil life. The pandemic crisis caused by COVID-19 can be considered as a concrete example in this direction
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