Digital Citizenship and Digital Literacy: Major Impact on your Life
The 21st century is the digital age, in which every individual is interacting with advanced technology. If we talk about the youth, they spend most of their time on the internet. So, this has an impact on their life.
The concept of Digital Citizenship is highly significant in our lives, which means using the technology or digital services responsibly. Since everyone uses technology for various purposes, it must be used with a sense of digital citizenship.
As we know, nothing is 100 percent efficient. However, it’s up to us how we use it. If there is a benefit of something, its excessive use might be dangerous. Therefore, being a citizen of a healthy society, we must be cautious about the usage.
For a healthy society, digital citizenship is playing an essential role in today’s age. Students should learn this concept to utilize the advantages of the Digital World effectively. Teachers are responsible for teaching the difference between good and bad Digital Citizens. So, the students can differentiate easily.
Let’s take an example of the Covid-19 pandemic situation; everything got affected, even the education system. Amid that crisis, education shifted to online mode. Students are more likely to interact with different topics over the internet. Consequently, technology becomes addictive, and people can hardly variate the damage.
Therefore, the topic under the theme of digital citizenship is more important for people- digital literacy.
Digital Literacy:
Digital literacy is helpful during this digital era. People need to understand what to read, how to read and differentiate among authentic sources. Digital literacy is critical to teach as it involves various concepts learning ethics, online prevention, and even avoiding cyberbullying.
Examples from Personal Experience:
There was much fake news about the Covid-19 treatment, symptoms, and vaccination outcomes during the pandemic. However, digital literacy helps to choose the authentic information out of millions of fake news.
Although, many people believe the fake news which influences their mental and physical health adversely. Therefore, before getting hurt, you must explore what the truth is!
Being illiterate is a curse. A person cannot rationalize whether the information is right or wrong. They tend to follow what is told without investigating the truth. Many people refuse to take a dosage of Covid vaccination, thinking it would harm them. However, the vaccination is to protect them from the harm of pandemic situations.
Impact of Digital Literacy on Life:
Digital literacy has a significant impact on one’s life. You can feel a substantial difference between digitally literate and digitally illiterate people. Digitally Illiterate people trust everything they get over the internet. But, the digitally literate person won’t do that. They will search for an authentic source for accurate information.
Not every individual reading online is digitally literate. It’s a broader concept that students must learn in schools or online. It requires both cognitive and technical skills to search, evaluate, learn, and transfer information digitally.
Therefore, people living in a digitalized global village should adapt accordingly and behave like a digital citizens for a healthy and better society.
