Definition[]
A digital citizen refers to a person that participate in society using a certain amount of information technology (IT).
Overview[]
To qualify for the unofficial title of digital citizen a person must have the skill and knowledge to interact with private and government organizations through means of "digital" tools such as computers or cell phones, along with access to these devices. People characterizing themselves as digital citizens often use IT extensively, creating blogs, use social networking and other means of modern communication[1]
Digital citizenship begins the first time any child, teen, and/or adult signs up for an e-mail address, posts pictures online, engages in e-commerce and/or participates in any electronic function that is B2C or B2B.
In highly developed nations, governments are digital with functions such as electronic benefits transfer and lack of digital citizenship can be a serious drawback, since many elementary procedures such as tax reports filing, birth registration, etc. are only available via the internet. Furthermore, many cultural and commercial entities only publicize information on web pages. Non-digital citizens are not able to retrieve this information, which may lead to social isolation or economic stagnation. The gap between digital citizens and non-digital citizens is often referred to as the digital divide.
In developing countries digital citizens would be the forerunners of development using technology to overcome the obstacles of living in a developing country. One example is the use of mobile phones in Africa where landlines are rare.[2]
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