Digi Citizen

Maj-Britt Kentz
Mar 31
5 min read

This is what Finnish digital citizenship looks like

Finnish digital citizenship is strongly built on public services. The websites and electronic services of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency show how a citizen’s digital rights and responsibilities have been shaped: change of address, name changes, ordering certificates, and many other everyday matters are expected to be handled online. On the surface everything seems easily accessible, but in reality the structure of these services reveals how demanding digital citizenship can be. The sites are multilayered, and using them requires both technical skills and an understanding of official administrative language and procedures.

This makes digital citizenship a phenomenon that is not only about individual digital skills. Even if one knows how to use devices and applications, it is possible to be excluded if one cannot navigate the complexities of government systems. In this way, Finnish digital citizenship is tied to the pace of administrative digitalization: it is not an identity that individuals can freely shape, but one that is bound to how the state and authorities organize their services.

At the same time, this model reveals strengths. In Finland, electronic identification is highly developed, and a large part of the population uses digital services in their daily lives. This builds a foundation of trust and equality for those who can keep up with developments. On the other hand, every complex menu and unclear instruction reminds us that digital citizenship is not the same experience for everyone. Young people, seniors, and immigrants may face very different barriers.

This is what Finnish digital citizenship looks like: technically advanced, yet layered and demanding. It reflects both the national ambition in digitalization and the fact that real inclusion cannot be solved by systems alone. Guidance, pedagogical solutions, and user-centered approaches are needed to make digital citizenship genuinely accessible to all.

(Service use: I have logged into and used Kela, OmaKanta, and Keva, and the tasks required by the assignment have been completed.)

As a Consumer

I chose to examine Amazon, which I use especially through the Kindle service. A point of comparison is the time before e-books became widespread, when ordering literature from the United States meant waiting weeks for delivery. The current situation is entirely different: Kindle books are available in seconds, and the entire library travels with me, easy to manage and lightweight.

The user experience is reliable and user-friendly. Services like Amazon make visible how digitalization has transformed the consumer’s position on a global scale. From the user’s perspective, value is created through availability, speed, and reliability. At the same time, the service provides access to a global market that was previously reachable only through complex and slow processes.

As a Professional

From the perspective of my work, I do not use similar consumer services, since software and devices are centrally procured as licenses and delivered through predefined systems such as Apple’s ecosystem. This reveals an interesting feature of the structures in my field: digitalization does not appear as free choice or an open marketplace, but as a controlled and organized whole.

This difference between consumer use and work digitalization is significant. It shows how workplace digitalization can be highly controlled and managed, while in private consumption, freedom of choice and speed are emphasized. In my work, the key is not just the reliability of individual services, but the overall security of the system, license management, and data protection. This highlights another side of digitalization: it does not always mean novelty and experimentation, but can also be stable infrastructure that supports work in a predictable way.

From the Digital Divide to a Layered Landscape

Traditionally, the digital divide has been described as a contrast: those who are included and those who are left out. This binary model, however, has changed, as digitalization today is layered. A person may be skilled in one environment but easily fall behind in another. The divide thus consists of layers of competence and capability: one may be active in one ecosystem and completely excluded from another. At the same time, measuring digital competence has become more difficult, since skills do not distribute evenly but are shaped by context and situation.

Digitalization is not a single gate that one passes through once, but a constantly changing environment that requires continuous adaptation.

This layered nature makes digital inclusion a complex issue. It cannot be solved with a single training course or a device purchase, but requires ongoing learning and flexible solutions. Yet not everyone is willing or able to keep adapting.

What I Learned from Others

When I read the texts of other students, I quickly noticed that their real essence lay in the comments. The comments were not isolated observations but added layers and perspectives that made the whole more interesting and alive. Writers broadly agreed that digitalization is not merely a technical matter, but above all a human and societal phenomenon.

A unifying theme was concern for fellow citizens: the elderly, for whom digital participation is not self-evident; children and young people, who are finding their place in society through participation and critical evaluation of information; and us adults, responsible both for managing data protection and for how we respond to the influence of social media giants.

It is true that each of us is traded as data. Through the internet, it is possible to influence what we see, what we believe, and what choices we make. This setting might easily generate dystopian visions. Yet the overall impression was not bleak. On the contrary, I was left with the feeling that people genuinely care for one another. Sharing concern about the elderly, children, and data security was not mere pessimism but real care about meaningful issues.

This is precisely what made the comments significant. They showed that the challenges of digitalization do not need to be faced alone. When concern is shared, it also turns into hope and collective responsibility. This was the moment I understood that the questions of digitalization are not just about individual survival but about communal processes, where empathy and care remain alongside technology.

Takeaways

Digital inequality is no longer a simple divide between participants and outsiders, but a multilayered phenomenon. One person may be skilled and active in one digital environment, yet easily lose footing in another. This makes digitalization a constantly shifting field of learning, where no single skill is sufficient on its own.

Reflecting on the digital global society also helped me realize that multimodal literacy has become more layered. It does not only mean the ability to read and produce digital content, but also the ability to understand regulation and societal frameworks. GDPR, data protection laws, FRIA, and ethical considerations are just as essential parts of multimodal literacy as the ability to produce, evaluate, and modify digital artifacts. Digital competence is therefore, above all, the ability to live and act together in society, not just fluency in using devices and apps.

What do I still want to strengthen? I find it important to pass on to my children versatile skills as well as the ability to discuss and to listen. As an adult, I can relate new knowledge to decades of accumulated experience. Children do not yet have such reference points, so it is crucial for them to build a broad and sustainable foundation. I also want my children to learn to help people of all ages. As the population ages, we will need young people who not only have technical skills but also a considerate and empathetic attitude.