The digital development of society has highlighted numerous challenges related to people’s online behaviour, especially that of the most vulnerable group—children. Alongside the many benefits of facilitating communication, socialisation, and supporting children in completing school tasks, the online environment has also introduced a host of challenges. Online abuse, the presence of digital predators, misinformation, and exposing the youngest users to inappropriate content are just a few of the weaknesses that accompany digital technologies in our lives. The maturity with which all internet users—including children—must make online choices, their awareness of the traces they continuously leave through every activity, and the collection of behaviours that demonstrate online civility are defining elements in shaping a “healthy” society of the future. Questions such as what it means to be a citizen in a digital age and how this behaviour can be cultivated in children are issues we seek to answer. We explore these questions through a study of children (N = 349) aged 10-11. The study analyses the role of digital maturity and children’s awareness of their digital footprint in encouraging appropriate online behaviour. The findings reveal a strong effect size in promoting positive civic conduct: digital maturity and digital footprint awareness are defining factors in fostering positive online behaviours among children. A novel aspect of this research is the examination of the relationship between digital knowledge and skills and self-esteem within the domestic primary education context. Its innovation lies in the discovery that pupils’ self-image influences only the acquisition of digital knowledge. Their competencies in using digital technologies are not significantly determined by self-esteem, according to our results. This may be explained by children’s need for support from all educational stakeholders so they are prepared for the novelty that digital tools bring to daily life. Self-esteem acts as a “motor” for the desire to gather as much information as possible about the digital environment, as our data shows. Self-appreciation can stimulate the formation of a substantial apperceptive base at an early age. The complexity inherent in developing digital competencies necessitates considering a range of underpinning factors. Support from all educational actors, perseverance, and digital maturity join self-esteem in forming generations of young people prepared to meet the demands of the present and future. We hope the results obtained will guide practitioners in offering pupils learning experiences tailored to their needs.

The limitations of our study stem from the use of a convenience sampling method, which restricts the generalisability of the results, and the data collection from families in urban areas, who may have higher levels of digital literacy, potentially limiting the applicability of the findings to more diverse or less digitally literate populations. Unfortunately, it was not possible to collect data from both parents and their children; therefore, the information was obtained from two independent groups. Future longitudinal studies investigating parental involvement in monitoring children's online activity from an early age, correlated with children's digital behaviour, could highlight the long-term impact of parental engagement on children’s ability to navigate digital environments responsibly.

Keywords: Digital citizenship, digital maturity, digital footprint, on-line civility, primary school students.