When looking at the status of a country’s digital citizenship, there are several aspects that must be considered. I will try to clearly and concisely state my opinions on Canada’s participation and ranking in each of these aspects, compared to the rest of the world.
Digital Communication: With the recent global technology revolution, a person’s ability to communicate with others has been vastly ameliorated, and people are able to stay in near-constant contact with friends, family and coworkers. In the past few years, Canada has seen an exponential increase in the amount of cell-phone users, social networkers, e-mailers and users of VOIP programs such as Skype. I believe Canada ranks quite highly in this category, but doesn’t quite reach number one, as there are still regions without cell-phone service or high-speed internet. These services are essential to these forms of communication.
Digital Access: This is one area where Canada lags behind a few other major developed countries, such as England, Germany and France, which all have much higher percentages of their populations with access to high-speed internet. However, programs exist to alleviate some of this problem, and offer free internet access to the public (I am of course referring to C@P).
Digital Literacy: Im not entirely certain where to rank Canada here. The majority of Canadian youth such as myself are quite proficient with at least basic forms of information technology, thanks to some education in schools on the subject and the frequent use of it in their everyday lives. However, many adults and seniors are functionally digitally illiterate, as many of their jobs never required the use of computers, and they grew up before the recent technology revolution. I expect this problem exists in most countries though, so I will rank Canada as average on this front.
Digital Law: Many people would say that Canada is lagging behind most other countries in the development of laws governing copyright and electronic piracy. Some have criticized Canada as being a haven for internet pirates because of their lax penalites for digital copyright infringement. I, however, see Canada as an enlightened country, averse to imposing the sort of draconian regulations like the United States’ Digital Millenium Copyright Act, which only served to limit fair use of copyrighted materials. Unfortunatley, (or fortunately depending on your perspective) Canda’s proposed Bill C-16 would bring us more in line with other countries’ policies. While many would consider this a step forward, in my opinion it is a step back.
Digital Security: Canada is one of the best in the world when it comes to digital security. With its severe punishment for those who would take advantage of others using digital devices, Canada works to ensure the safety of those who might be taken advantage of, such as minors
Digital Commerce: This is another region where Canada is leading ahead of most other countries, aside from perhaps Japan and the United States. Almost any kind of commercial transaction can be made online, or even from cell phones. With services such as e-bay, on-line banking, and the ability to purchase most items from the websites of various retailers, most Canadians can securely and reliably purchase products and services whenever they need them.
In conclusion, while Canada may lag behind some other countries in a few minor ways, I believe that Canada is a paragon of digital citizenship, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to have been exposed to such great degree of this digital lifestyle, which has revolutionized the way we interact and connect.
