Digital citizenship is an intriguing but still very abstract idea with a dark past and great potential. A journalist who has followed youth Internet safety and citizenship for nearly 20 years, Anne Collier looks at what this phenomenon is and offers five ways adult society can actually make it viable for what we call ”digital citizens,” the heart of digital citizenship.
A journalist and youth advocate, Anne Collier has been writing about youth and technology since 1997. A year ago she felt the need to write less and do more – to turn all that she’d learned from serving on three national task forces on Internet safety, following research on the subject as it emerged, and her long-standing advisory work with social media companies into practical help for schools. So this school year she’s piloting the U.S.’s first Internet helpline for schools, iCanHelpline.org. Through the work of the helpline, she hopes to increase trust and collaboration, reduce fears, and grow students’ digital literacy and leadership.
