How we live Now: A Tale of a Digital Citizen

Being a resident of the UK, I personally hadn’t been affected as much as people in other countries, with China, Spain and Italy being the main ones, and so I was bemused and a little bit skeptical when I received a frantic call from family members residing in Spain, telling me to join them before the airports were closed down indefinitely. I took the information with a pinch of salt. To me, their reactions seemed a bit extreme. Why would they panic over something that would probably die down in a couple of weeks? Nevertheless, I packed up all my things and hopped on the next plane over to join them… arriving merely three days before the country went into official lockdown. Its citizens were requested to isolate. We were fine, my family had prepared for this. But what about others? How can businesses stay afloat with no one to work due to this quarantine? How can our youth continue with their education if schools are continuously being shut down? Is this forced isolation one of the first major steps individuals need to become full digital citizens?

‘“Digital citizenship”, is the ability to participate in society online…those who use the internet regularly and effectively.’^[1] It is what individuals are seeming to do more and more, examples being freelancing and using social media apps like YouTube and Instagram to start up their careers. Ordinary individuals are able to make use of what the internet provides to learn new skills, produce more creative content that they wouldn’t necessarily have access to in their day to day lives, and research information that might also have not been made available to them. Eric Barone, an up and coming video game developer, is one such example of making use of the internet; having originally created the game Stardew Valley from his own residence. Because he was able to learn a variety of skills online, such as coding, game development and animation, Barone was able to create his very own game by himself; while gaming companies would usually need large teams to work together to produce one.^[2] The fact that today’s technology can provide us with these opportunities to teach ourselves is a benefit that we should make full use of. 

In terms of Covid-19, this ability to self-teach is one that is needed now more than ever, as we are made to isolate ourselves at home, only relying on the media online to keep us updated. With nothing better to do, I have been spending my days scouring online news sites for updates on the virus: what has the UK decided to do? How are others handling this crisis? What’s the latest advice on how to keep healthy?  There is no end to the questions regarding this virus. Recently, there has been an article posted on The Mirror telling us not to take ibuprofen as a way to combat the virus, as the NHS had been previously advising people, as the medication will only make symptoms worse.^[3] With contradictory information constantly being uploaded and provided for us to read, we should all now be cautious in what we accept as truth. Teach ourselves to research properly, to question what we are seeing online; and it’s not just up to us to educate ourselves and each other, but the UK government also has a duty to keep its citizens updated, as they appear to have been doing so far. ‘If information available online helps citizens to be more informed about politics and more inclined to participate, then society as a whole profits…’^[4] Learning more about the digital world, as digital citizens, would mean that society, and therefore the economy, would be able to continue. We would be able to carry on with our daily lives from the comfort of our homes, and not stuck in limbo. To be able to adapt to online life is a skill we all need in today’s society, especially when this pandemic has affected us so greatly.

Furthermore, with schools and universities closing down worldwide, young people need a way to continue their education more effectively. Homeschooling has been the main option for many young children and ‘some schools are sending kids home with devices, workbooks and other resources.’^[5] However, there is only so much schools can provide in terms of resources on such short notice, as well as being in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. The demand from parents and families for these resources must be staggering, but they only need to look to the internet. The wide variety of knowledge apps that are found in Social media, such as TED Talks, Curiosity and Quantum, can now provide a new type of education that schools and universities are not taking full advantage of. Social media is an outlet and a vehicle to creativity, whether it be visual, sound, written or coding; if they were to make more use of these apps at educational institutions, students would have more visual or creative ways of accessing information that are not traditionally academic.

Since I am currently in university education myself, I typically have been using online resources for my module work. Being able to access the internet for work means that ‘if users want additional information, they only need to search or ask for it and can most likely retrieve an instantaneous answer.’^[6] Other students, like myself, would be able to include extensive information in our work and other projects if we were to have a wider access to knowledge and resources. With the TED Talk app for example, I am able to access whatever I need here at home, and I am able to learn in the way that I am personally comfortable with: which is an audio learning experience that personally helps me in my studies as a research method. The fact that we are able to have access to information in this way, can really help those who are unable to attend formal education, due to either poor health or other personal reasons.

As a digital citizen, we’ve seen that there is much that is made available to us via the internet and there are many benefits that, we as individuals, gain. Though, the next step could be to consider how we can use the internet to give back to our communities? During the past few weeks I’ve seen evidence of people coming together, volunteering and helping others due to this pandemic. ‘Teenagers are more likely to volunteer if their parents volunteer…parents teach their children volunteer motivations when they teach them about social responsibility, reciprocity, and justice.’^[7] Learning morals and other social cues from their parents have helped young people discover different ways in which they personally can make an impact within their communities. Though some could say that merely learning from family is not enough, and have found ways to make an impact online. Apps such as Facebook and Twitter have been awash with news updates and posts announcing volunteer programs for helping the elderly and vulnerable. People of all ages are collaborating together to ensure their neighbours get the supplies they need, are healthy and are being looked after. It is a difficult task as ‘older people are more likely to become severely ill if they catch coronavirus’^[8], so it is important that people still remain cautious while they help. A recent news story tells of three residents from Greater Manchester setting up a Facebook group recruiting local volunteers to help the elderly and vulnerable. It didn’t take long for ‘2,000 people [to] join the page and 3,500 messages of support.’^[9] Similarly here in Spain, it has recently been announced via Social media that young people are also volunteering to donate food to the elderly and deliver it to their doorsteps. 

What being a ‘digital citizen’ teaches us, even as the virus has currently spread worldwide, is that we can be assured that up to date information will still reach us, keeping us in the loop as we are forced to remain indoors. Like anything, there are definite pros and cons to Social media and the information we read on the internet might not always be 100% correct or honest, but that is up to us to make our own judgements and not get overwhelmed by it. The cons could be seen to have created a new generation of people who can be considered fearful of the world and each other – if only because of what we are exposed to on the internet. Coronavirus is the main example of this, there is not much known about it, besides from where it originated from as well as some of the symptoms; it can feel like we’re all floundering to try and stay one step ahead. But the media is flawed, too focused on selling a ‘good story’ than reporting honestly. This current situation has been painted to appear as a villain from a story, and logic and reason has been thrown out the window. Yes, there is no vaccine currently accessible at this time, but there are many things to learn from this pandemic. Do not allow this fear of the unknown cloud your morals, or squash the instinct to reach out and help your neighbour and the communities around you.

There is a vast amount of knowledge on the web, and Social media has now allowed people from all levels of society and social backgrounds to access the same information and skill sets. The success of using that information will depend on that character, or their personal drive and abilities, rather than their background. This could be the beginning of society reshaping itself, as we are all equal in what we can access via the internet. As ‘digital citizens’, information that was initially reserved for a social elite, is now open to everyone. There is now a generation of people who are ‘tech savvy’ and can use Social media to help develop their own skills, unhindered. The internet is just another service that has been provided to us, and like anything, if it is to be used correctly, we can potentially learn many more skills. We can share more and be more efficient in helping communities across the globe. We need only to learn how to use it more effectively than we are now. I would say that this pandemic is as good a start as any.