This week I was asked to watch 3 videos on digital media and digital literacy. Before I never really understood what Digital Media was, I always perceived it to just be what we see on our phones and on modern technology however watching the first video showed me how advanced media has become. Years before even going back to when I was a little kid we only had Nokia flip phones that were only good for some phone calls and playing the only game of Chess and Snake which I would always play on my Dad's phone, yes I was that kid. But even going years before that technology and media only had a ''one-way meaning'' through radios, TV and print, where we could only watch or listen to them. Now media is interconnected and interactive. We used it to connect to others so easily whether it be on multiple different apps or just simply by sharing TikTok's with each other. We use media to find communities and people online that have common interests, beliefs, and values. Even though this is such an amazing part of today's world their is a flip side to this. Anybody can post online and make it look authentic, deceiving or us pretending to not be who they say they are which is why we have to double-check information we read or see to make sure it is authentic.
Even though we have this amazing technology that allows us to communicate a lot of people don't understand digital literacy especially people who didn't grow up in the same era as us Gen Z kids. Now you may be wondering what is Digital Literacy? Digital literacy means having the skills you need to live, learn and work in a society where communication and access to information is increasingly through digital technologies (Western Sydney University 2009) People think digital literacy is only about knowing how to use technology but it really is about navigating and communication through digital environments. 90% of graduate jobs require a high level of information and communication through technology as it has taken over our era. I feel that being able to spread information about digital literacy can really help people to understand how to use it and get people up to date.
On the other hand of getting people up to date. I feel that the technology we provide shouldn't be too complex for people older than the kids born into this era. I understand even being a Gen Z kid myself I sometimes look at instruction sheets on how to set up programs on my phone and even I get confused. If we simplified modern-day technology to make it easy to look at and understand it could really make life easier for people who don't necessarily know technology. For people in today's society there is a barrier to getting started in the digital world but Apple the brand understands this. Apple has such a simple menu and tells you how to locate certain apps and settings and the layout is just extraordinary and very simplistic to understand. Sure even my own dad could probably understand the Apple menu just as well as anybody else and trust me he is not one for technology. But I truly feel the technology world can be more understood and learnt about through digital literacies as communication is key for everybody especially during the pandemic and on day to day basis's using it for work and school. We can develop digital literacies by progressing.
- Kate O Toole
Sources:
Digital Media Are Networked
Digital Literacy and Why It Matters
The Essential Elements Of Digital Literacies
Western Sydney University (2020) What Is Digital Literacy? [online] Available from
https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/studysmart/home/study_skills_guides/digital_literacy/what_is_digital_literacy (17 Nov 2020)
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