Abstract
Unlike the millennials from the industrialised world who were raised amidst an increasingly online and socially networked society, their South African counterparts at previously disadvantaged universities have some weaknesses similar to those of digital migrants. These weaknesses are caused by the limited exposure millennials in South Africa have to digital devices and Internet connectivity. In spite of these impediments, their future careers in an increasingly globalised world require them to behave like, transact and engage with full-fledged digital citizens from the global north. Digital citizenship is the ability to use technology safely, responsibly, critically, productively and civically. This raises intellectual curiosity about the extent to which the African millennial is prepared for a world that expects them to be digital citizens. This article, therefore, investigates the challenges faced by the South African millennial as they navigate an unusual route to digital citizenship. We adopted the activity theory for a mixed-methods study that consists of a survey of 148 questionnaires and 15 in-depth interviews. The findings show that while university-going millennials acquire digital literacy, their development of digital citizenship is affected by lack of mentors and access (i.e. connectivity and devices) at home and lack of soft skills training (i.e. online safety, digital etiquette and inadequate information literacy) at the university.
Highlights
Each day the world is becoming increasingly digital/Your students begin to use more and more technology devices at home and in the classroom
‘... but I have friends who still post their nude pictures online or share derogatory statement online which are things that may cost them in the future because I heard employers look at your online activities
‘Yes, I remember very well the lecture was by Dr N. She spoke about cyberbullying and that we should respect others. She spoke about restricting the amount of information you give out online and on social media to avoid cyber bullies’. (Ki14, Female, 20)
Summary
Each day the world is becoming increasingly digital/Your students begin to use more and more technology devices at home and in the classroom. Based on the McLuhan’s (1964) dictum which suggests that humans shape their tools and the tools, in turn, shape humans, White (2013) posits that the current state of communication technologies calls for the training of new skills for students to fit in a new paradigm. On this basis, he proposes a new module, ‘digital fluency’, that must address the continuously evolving needs of the information age students
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