Digital citizenship emerges as the defining civic battleground of the social media era

Digital citizenship has become one of the most dynamic and contested concepts in contemporary social research, and a major new collection of 27 articles published in Frontiers in Human Dynamics now offers the most comprehensive empirical map to date of how civic, social, and cultural life is being redefined in digitally mediated societies. The Research Topic, Digital Citizenship in the New Era of Social Media, coordinated by Cristóbal Fernández Muñoz of Complutense University of Madrid, rejects the comfortable assumption that social media platforms are neutral arenas for public exchange. Instead, the contributions portray them as dynamic ecosystems where visibility, affect, governance, and identity intersect to determine what it means to act, participate, and belong in the digital age.

The rapid evolution of social media platforms, the algorithmic infrastructures that sustain them, and the emergence of new forms of mediated participation have reshaped how individuals engage, interact, and construct meaning online. The editorial accompanying the collection argues that digital citizenship is no longer confined to formal political participation but is enacted through everyday practices of consumption, identity construction, interpersonal interaction, and discursive negotiation. At the same time, it is shaped by structural conditions, including algorithmic mediation, platform governance, surveillance, and socio-cultural expectations, that both enable and constrain individual agency.

A first thematic cluster centers on misinformation, disinformation, and the dynamics of public discourse. Febri Sonni analyzes economic conspiracy theories in Indonesia, showing how financial narratives become distorted through digital channels and influence public perceptions and decision-making. In parallel, Sarhan and Hegelich investigate coordinated inauthentic behavior in the German COVID-19 discourse, offering a nuanced view of how deliberate manipulation intersects with broader discursive trends. Together, these contributions highlight the civic risks associated with algorithmic amplification, ideological polarization, and the erosion of shared informational norms, risks that intensify as recommendation systems reward engagement over accuracy.

A second group of articles focuses on youth engagement, digital literacy, and participatory cultures. Hai and Xiong explore how Generation Z navigates credibility, identity, and social influence when sharing news, revealing that technical competence alone does not guarantee responsible information behavior. Huang and colleagues examine how social media shapes urban image and tourism behavior among Chinese Generation Z, while Xu and colleagues analyze short-video addiction and its relationship with the tendency among university students to disengage from competitive pressures. These studies collectively demonstrate that digital citizenship among young people involves complex negotiations of trust, belonging, and social responsibility rather than simple mastery of tools.

A third thematic axis addresses identity, self-presentation, and mediated social interaction. Chang and colleagues offer a multidimensional investigation of VTuber audiences, revealing how virtual personas shape participatory culture and transnational belonging. Other studies examine motivations for digital dating, long-term use of AI companion applications, and the emotional dynamics of mediated relationships. These works make clear that digital citizenship is not only cognitive or informational but also emotional, relational, and embodied, extending the concept into territory that traditional civic education frameworks have largely ignored.

Platform governance, privacy, and digital rights form another critical set of contributions. Zhang and colleagues explore the privacy paradox among middle-aged and elderly users, highlighting tensions between autonomy, vulnerability, and platform power. Research on algorithmic governance and digital rights, such as the work of Hegelich and colleagues, shows how opaque systems shape user agency in ways users cannot readily perceive or contest. Meanwhile, studies on digital literacy and responsible participation, including García-Peñalvo and colleagues, underscore the importance of critical competencies for navigating complex digital environments. These articles resonate with broader debates on data governance, surveillance, and the responsibilities of institutions and platforms in safeguarding equitable participation.

The Research Topic also includes research on consumer behavior, digital commerce, and the interplay between online and offline decision-making. Ruan and colleagues examine narrative strategies in live-streaming commerce, while Chen and colleagues explore the concept of time in digital storytelling. These contributions deepen understanding of how digital citizenship is enacted through consumption, meaning-making, and interaction, showing that commercial platforms are also sites where civic identities and values are negotiated.

Finally, several articles address political and ideological dynamics within social media ecosystems. Research on antifeminist opinion leaders on YouTube, by Martínez and García, illustrates how platformed discourse can shape civic attitudes and deepen ideological polarization. Studies on digital activism and civic participation, such as those by Sánchez-García and colleagues, examine how users mobilize for social causes, while analyses of social media’s role in democratic resilience, by Pérez-Colomé and colleagues, highlight both opportunities and risks for civic engagement. The findings suggest that the same infrastructures that enable grassroots mobilization can also amplify divisive rhetoric and manipulation.

Taken together, the 27 articles offer a multidimensional and empirically grounded view of digital citizenship in the era of social media. They reveal a landscape where opportunities for connection, creativity, and civic engagement coexist with challenges related to polarization, manipulation, inequality, and emotional strain. The collection invites scholars, educators, policymakers, and platform designers to rethink digital citizenship as a complex, relational, and evolving construct, and it underscores the need for interdisciplinary approaches integrating communication studies, psychology, sociology, ethics, and technology governance. As social media continues to evolve, so too must conceptualizations of digital citizenship, toward frameworks that recognize its complexity, embrace its potential, and address its risks with rigor and responsibility.

Subject of Research: Editorial: Digital citizenship in the new era of social media

Article Title: Editorial: Digital citizenship in the new era of social media

Article References: Fernández Muñoz, C. (2026). Editorial: Digital citizenship in the new era of social media. Frontiers in Human Dynamics, 8, Article 1942912. https://doi.org/10.3389/fhumd.2026.1942912

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3389/fhumd.2026.1942912

Keywords: Editorial, Digital, citizenship, social, media, scientific research