Are you digitally literate?
I didn't have a quick answer to the question if I am Digitally Literate, and I started to find out what Digital Literacy means.
Yes, I am digitally literate, would be my first answer. But I didn't really know what the term actually means. For a project within education, I was actually encouraged to delve deeper.
Digital literacy is the ability to interpret and design nuanced communication across fluid digital forms.
Aspects of digital literacy
Digital literacy, as with normal literacy, is a much broader concept than just being able to use computers and the information within networks. It is not being a digital illiterate. It consists of several aspects and I will briefly list them here:
- Data and information
- Security and privacy in the digital world
- The operation and (creative) use of digital technology
- Digital communication and cooperation
- Digital citizenship
- Digital economy
So only when I master these aspects well, will I be fully digitally literate. To be honest, I've only really learned to deal with social media in the last three years. Now I have to work hard again to understand what blockchain, tokens and web3 do to my digital and real existence. And with the society and economy in which it takes place. So digital literacy is not a static concept because the underlying digital world is still evolving.
Via negativa, what is digital literacy not?
The via negativa is finding and describing what something is NOT. This is a useful method when a topic is new and seems big. So, what exactly is digital literacy not?
Now that I've been working on my research into digital literacy for a while, I've come to realize that it's about whether you can recognize reality in the digital world. Can you figure things out, find friends, create and share content? And that in a way that makes and keeps it safe, for yourself as well as for those around you. A world where you feel free and armed against the tricks and incantations of information from malicious angles or overly complex, opaque technology giants. Where you can exercise full citizenship and find work or create and earn money.
Just as you used to have to be literate to find your way in society, you now have to be digitally literate. That is different from "being able to use a computer", having dozens of devices, chatting on social media or programming in Python. Now that I have a clearer idea of what it is not, I'm going to look further into what digital literacy actually is and how digital literacy could be taught and measured.
Of course, I'm also curious to know if you think you're digitally literate. Leave a message below or just give your opinion 👇
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