Young Children as Digital Citizens: Opportunity or Risk

Abstract

Young children are in the stage of rapid human development. In this era continuously driven by the information technology, young children need to possess the 21^st Century skills which provide them with the opportunity for growing up as digital citizens who are capable of seeing through tricks of the media that cover several diversified dimensions of technological changes. This particular paper features the elements regarding Thai children’s current trends in digital media usage behaviors, the value of being digital citizens as well as the factors and risks related to the digital era influencing their growth and development. This includes providing young children with opportunities for being developed as digital citizens, through the underlying mechanisms which drive them to acquire digital citizenship skills, i.e. parents and early childhood teachers who act as their role models and possess cooperation skills which promote the suitable learning environment for development and learning of young children. Such factors can lead to reduction of the risks which may occur to the children and further develop their digital citizenship skills which are collectively called “Digital Intelligence”.