Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate undergraduate students’ knowledge and practice of eight of the nine elements of digital citizenship: digital commerce, digital communication, digital literacy, digital etiquette, digital law, digital rights and responsibility, digital health and wellness and digital security. The sample population for this descriptive study comprised 204 undergraduate students selected by purposeful sampling. The results show that undergraduate students have an insufficient level of knowledge about good digital citizenship. A significant number of undergraduate students do observe eight digital citizenship elements through several ethical practices; however, the study revealed several concerns among participants in regards to security and safety, such as verifying the reliability and credibility of digital resources, checking the accuracy of information on the Internet, interpreting laws and penalties related to using digital resources, reporting irresponsible behaviour to the appropriate authorities and limiting the time and duration of daily digital device use. The results of this study show that an individual’s extent of experience using the Internet is not a factor that affects the level of knowledge and practice of digital citizenship among undergraduate students. Conversely, the nature of academic specialisation, particularly technology-heavy courses (e.g. Educational Technology), are among the factors that affect the knowledge and practice of good digital citizenship. This article offers several recommendations for future study, policy development and practice.
Highlights
Since the emergence of the Internet and related applications, the trend of a large segment of the population using these applications has become known as the digital or electronic revolution
The participants considered themselves as being experienced with various digital technologies (ICTs)
This study investigated undergraduate students’ knowledge and practice of eight of the nine elements of digital citizenship: digital commerce, digital communication, digital literacy, digital etiquette, digital law, digital rights and responsibility, digital health and wellness and digital security [8]
Summary
Since the emergence of the Internet and related applications, the trend of a large segment of the population using these applications has become known as the digital or electronic revolution. Statistics and studies have found increasing evidence for technology abuse, and it is necessary to develop a preventive policy against the dangers of technology, as well as incentives to encourage responsible use and make the best of its positive qualities. From this standpoint, a new term has emerged, which is gaining momentum and great interest in all parts of the world: digital citizenship [2], [3], [4]. Among these efforts are the Australian project ‘Connecting with confidence: developing the digital future of Australia’, which stipulates the generalization of teaching digital citizenship to students by training parents and teachers according to an integrated national plan, as well as France’s plan to make the subject of digital citizenship a major national issue [5]
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