Digital Citizenship: New Challenges for Civic Education in the 21st Century – A Hungarian Perspective

The digital environment is fundamentally reshaping traditional forms of civic engagement, democratic competencies, and processes of political socialization. In the 21st century, civic education can no longer be understood without acknowledging the pervasive influence of digital spaces, where young people’s online activities, content consumption patterns, and platform practices play a decisive role in how they perceive community responsibility, democratic norms, and public discourse. This presentation examines how the Council of Europe’s Digital Citizenship Education (DCE) framework can be integrated into the Hungarian educational system, and identifies the specific challenges faced by Hungarian teachers and institutions in developing digital citizenship competencies. Drawing on multiple national studies conducted between 2022 and 2025, we analyse key areas such as media literacy, informational self-determination, digital well-being, and online civic participation. Our findings demonstrate that Hungarian youths’ digital socialization simultaneously opens new opportunities for broadening democratic participation while also introducing significant risks related to misinformation, polarization, and algorithmic distortions. The presentation concludes with practical recommendations for teacher training, classroom practice, and policy development, aiming to support the strategic implementation of digital citizenship education in Hungary.