Young children are immersed in a high tech world. However, as their functional technological capabilities evolve, they also need to develop skills for interactive and participatory engagement in online environments. Challenges exist as digital spaces transform the role of traditional mechanisms of adult oversight and supervision in guiding children as citizens within global mediums. This special issue contributes to the growing body of literature on new literacies needed in this technological age. Social studies teachers, in particular, have a critical role to play in establishing a strong foundation of skills for interaction in digital spaces that primes children as citizens who optimize the iterative functions of the Web for self-expression and participatory forms of citizenship. Otherwise, children will undergo an implicit conditioning by the commercial forces that have pervaded digital environments. The intersection of these issues is the focus of this issue.