Digital citizens – what responsibility are we willing to take?
What level of responsibility is the digitally savvy, service-oriented citizen prepared to take? Two studies examine how prepared young adults are to handle crises and how different types of messages influence the extent to which citizens feel a sense of personal responsibility.
Our lives today revolve around digital media and online platforms. We have also become accustomed to constant access to digital public services. But what does this development mean for citizens’ risk communication and personal emergency preparedness? What level of personal responsibility is the digitally savvy, service-oriented citizen prepared to take – and what expectations are placed on municipal authorities in potential crisis situations?
This study explores whether young adults who live digitally integrated lives are ready to handle crises. The findings show that they possess digital skills and networks that make them adept at quickly becoming aware of events and sharing warning information. They are also mentally prepared to take personal responsibility for preparedness actions and emphasize the importance of social networks in crisis readiness.
Despite this, they have weak connections to local preparedness structures, low perceived self-efficacy, and limited access to the items often associated with good home preparedness. Future crisis preparedness strategies should consider the norms and behaviours shaped by digitalization.
The results of this DURCOM study therefore highlight relatively complex and paradoxical attitudes toward crisis preparedness and responsibility in the digital society.
Eriksson, M. (2024). Living a “Digital Life” and Ready to Cope with Crises? Highlighting Young Adults’ Conceptions of Crisis and Emergency Preparedness. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 32 (1).
For more information, please contact: mats.eriksson@oru.se
DURCOM has also conducted a message experiment exploring how different responsibility framings affect public perception during cyber crises. What impact does it have if authorities take full responsibility for resolving a situation – for example, when payment systems go down? Or conversely, if all responsibility is shifted to citizens, requiring them to manage on their own?
The study shows that messages in which authorities assume full responsibility do not reduce citizens’ awareness of their own responsibility. Messages emphasizing shared responsibility or individual responsibility increase citizens’ sense of accountability. However, none of the messages lead to a greater willingness to personally prepare.
Sandstig, G & Eriksson, M (2024). Shared Responsibility or Not? A Responsibility Messages Experiment during a Cyber Crisis in Designing for Risk Communication. Journal of Risk Research.
For more information, please contact: gabriella.sandstig@gu.se