Young Canadians in a Wireless World: Developing Digital Citizenship and Fostering Collective Online Resilience

• In Event: Exploring Digital Citizenship Education: Comparative Perspectives From Five Nations

Abstract

Young Canadians in a Wireless World (YCWW) is Canada’s longest-running and most comprehensive research study on young people’s attitudes, behaviours, and opinions regarding the internet, technology, and digital media. Findings from YCWW guide MediaSmarts’ efforts in digital media literacy as well as research and policy setting in Canada and abroad on issues including online harms, digital well-being, privacy, safety, activism, digital citizenship, and digital equity and inclusion. Phase I began in 2000, and Phase IV of this study began in 2019 with a series of focus groups to gather a ‘kid’s eye view' of what is working for young people online and what needs to be changed or improved so they get the most out of their online experiences (Steeves et al., 2020). Focus groups with parents and guardians rounded out the qualitative discussions which informed the quantitative survey that we administered in 2021 to over 1,000 students in grades four to eleven across Canada (MediaSmarts, 2022). 

Our research, resource development, and public engagement work are grounded in an evidence and practice-based framework for digital media literacy (MediaSmarts, n.d. (a)). For youth to thrive in a digital age, they need to not only have access to digital technology and media, but they also need to know how to use, understand, and engage with it. This presentation will highlight findings from YCWW phase IV with a specific focus on the digital media literacy skills young Canadians are learning, from whom, and what they are interested in learning more about. We will also speak to findings that highlight young Canadian’s digital citizenship: the ability to navigate and actively participate in digital environments in ways that are safe, responsible, and respectful (MediaSmarts, n.d.(b)).

Data collected from YCWW Phase IV demonstrates that young Canadians are engaged in many aspects of responsible digital citizenship including: practicing empathy and community building, engaging in positive technology use, sharing reliable information, and protecting their privacy (MediaSmarts, 2023). Many young Canadians also participate in online activism, including posting content online about a cause or event they care about, and some older youth (in grades 7-11) have joined or supported an activist group online. However, youth want online platforms and corporations to do more to ensure safe and inclusive online communities, including supervising what people post or comment online and taking down harmful content. 



This research reveals that young Canadians want to learn the digital media literacy skills and critical competencies required to practice digital citizenship and maintain their digital wellbeing. Approaches towards fostering digital wellbeing among youth should recognize youth as experts on their own lives and active participants in online spaces, capable of generating solutions to the problems they encounter alongside the caring adults in their lives (Bettencourt, 2020). This collective and cooperative strategy to navigate life online must be grounded in trust, information, and empowerment so that young people have the skills and resources they need to be online as safe, responsible, and ethical digital citizens (MediaSmarts, 2023). 

Author

• Kara Brisson-Boivin, MediaSmarts