Nongye tushu qingbao xuebao (Mar 2023)
Modeling the Relationship Between Digital Nativity and Digital Citizenship: Based on the Analysis of SEM and fsQCA
Abstract
[Purpose/Significance] In the information age, citizens have been given a unique identity: digital citizenship. As important participants in the digital society, digital natives have attracted researchers' extensive attention for their civic literacy online. This research aims to complement the research of digital citizenship, providing empirical support for promoting digital citizenship education and carrying forward educational informationization and the construction of a digital society scientifically. [Method/Process] Taking 995 college students as research objects, this study adopts structural equation model and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis methods to investigate the impact of their digital nativities on their digital citizenship literacy and the configuration path leading to high digital citizen literacy, respectively. [Results/Conclusions] The results of structural equation model show that contemporary college students have a high level of digital nativity and digital citizenship literacy, and that the digital nativity can significantly predict the digital citizenship literacy. Besides, father's income and father's education background play a moderating role between digital nativity and digital citizenship literacy. Findings of fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis research show that there are two kinds of equivalent configuration paths leading to high digital citizenship literacy. The antecedent variables included in the first type of path (i.e., S1: growing up with technology * reliant on graphics for communication * comfortable with multitasking * thriving on instant gratifications and rewards) are exactly four attributes of digital nativity, which means that when college students' digital nativity is rated as high level, they will display a high digital citizenship literacy. Compared with the first type of path, the second type of path (S2a:growing up with technology * comfortable with multitasking * thriving on instant gratifications and rewards * gender * father's educational background * father's income, and S2b: ~growing up with technology * ~reliant on graphics for communication * comfortable with multitasking * thriving on instant gratifications and rewards * gender * ~father's educational background * father's income) includes fewer attributes of digital nativity but three other variables: gender, father's educational background and father's income. This paths means that the combination effect of students' individual characteristics can lead to higher digital citizenship literacy. In other words, when the difference in students' digital nativity is not statistically significant, the combination effect of gender, father's educational background and father's income variables can play a complementary role, finally resulting in higher digital citizenship literacy. In addition, two attributes of digital nativity: multi-tasking and instant gratification and reward, are the most effective for improving digital citizenship literacy. This study is a self-reporting study, which is inevitably affected by people's subjective judgment. In addition, the research sample needs to be expanded. Further study will consider introducing third-party evaluation to objectively evaluate the digital citizenship literacy of the subjects and collect more ideal samples which can represent the national college students better.
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