What Is Digital Literacy?
Digital literacy is the ability to use digital technology, communication tools, and/or networks to locate, evaluate, use and create information. Digital literacy is often broken down into several different subsets, each containing its own set of abilities, behaviors and knowledge. Those subsets include information literacy, media literacy, computer literacy and internet literacy.
Information Literacy
Information literacy, which is sometimes referred to as information technology literacy or library information literacy, is the ability to recognize when information is needed and extract that information from a wide variety of sources and formats. This ability requires access, skills and dispositions that allow for contexts in which the information can be applied.
Strong information literacy skills allow users to critically evaluate the reliability and appropriateness of information and further hone the processes required for effective information retrieval, organization and usage. Information literacy is part of what makes a literate citizen—one who is capable of seeking, understanding, analyzing, evaluating and using multiple types of information. Information literacy requires users to be able to distinguish good information from bad information, which makes it a crucial ability in the digital age.
Media Literacy
Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create messages or media in a variety of forms. It is related to information literacy, as it deals with decomposition of messages, building skills to interpret the messages and understanding how the messages can be effectively communicated.
News media and other forms of media are becoming increasingly influential, as they are easily accessed through the Internet and smart phones. With the right media literacy skills, individuals can utilize the media effectively to interpret messages and evaluate the accuracy, acceptability and usefulness of these messages and use them to inform their decisions and decisions of others in their networks.
Computer Literacy
Computer literacy is the knowledge and understanding of the use of computers, the applicationsand software necessary to operate them and the ability to work with modern digital platforms, interfaces, and technology. It also means a familiarity with the terminology and operations of computers. Computer literacy is one of the essential elements of digital literacy, as users must have a basic understanding of how computers work to be able to utilize digital resources effectively.
Internet Literacy
Internet literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create and communicate information through the use of the internet. It is a skill defined by the ability to navigate the internet and its many tools, as well as recognize and identify when and how to use the different resources and functions available online.
The goal of internet literacy is to empower individuals to be successful in the digital space, helping them to be able to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the internet while avoiding the risks of the online environment.
Conclusion
Digital literacy is an important skill in todays world, and itssubsets of information literacy, media literacy, computer literacy and internet literacy are all integral elements of this skill. The ability to use digital technology, communication tools and networks to locate, evaluate, use and create information is invaluable in our modern society. Individuals with the right set of digital literacy skills are better prepared to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the internet and the digital world.
