Schooling in the Age of Algorithms: Designing a Digital Citizenship Curriculum to Promote Media Literacy and Responsible Technology Use

Abstract

The widespread presence of social media, artificial intelligence, video platforms, and algorithmic systems has transformed students’ learning experiences and everyday lives. This study aims to design and validate a digital citizenship curriculum that promotes media literacy, critical thinking, online safety, digital ethics, and self-regulated technology use. The curriculum will address misinformation detection, algorithmic bias, privacy, digital footprints, cyberbullying, intellectual property, respectful online communication, and the ethical use of artificial intelligence. In the first phase, curriculum components will be identified through expert review and interviews with teachers, students, and educational specialists. In the second phase, the program’s effectiveness will be evaluated through an intervention-based design. The proposed curriculum is expected to reduce passive and uncritical technology consumption and prepare students to become informed, critical, responsible, safe, and creative participants in digital environments.