Crisis management skills: Digital literacy

Digital technologies are changing the way we live and work. It’s become common for us to  perform tasks like  shopping, banking, communication, socialization, browsing and collaborating with people through our smartphones and devices. However, are we really tech-savvy in doing these transactions the right way? This is when we need to re-look at our digital skills.

While today’s generation are called digital natives, it is essential for all of us to have digital literacy. Digital literacy is a particular set of competencies which allow us to function and participate fully in a digital world. With the digital India initiative by the Government of India it has become crucial for even the root level people to have these competencies.

It’s incredibly hard to even know where to start as the technology is advancing rapidly. To help our readers, we have listed down some of the easiest ways to start with. These steps will help you revamp your digital literacy and will help you improve your digital fluency.

Even if you are not that well acquainted with the technology, continuous learning will help you to achieve a certain degree of digital literacy and continuously practicing the skills will help you become fluent in them. 

Start with the basics

You need to learn the basics computer skills. Start by reading user guides or may be a book on computer basics. Writing emails is one of them. You need to have the email etiquettes in order to write a good and effective email. Knowing keyboard commands will help you come across as digitally-literate. Learn to use other tools also like Word, PowerPoint, excel sheet and other basics of a computer. 

Move to the advanced level

After learning the basics, you can immerse yourself more into the ocean of digital skills by learning some advanced skills. And these advanced computer skills are not impossible to learn. If you want to do coding, programming or other parts of the computer like Random Access Memory (RAM) you can do that as well. Enroll into an online course or stat with browsing in Google. 

Don’t forget the safety aspect

Today, we use technology more immersive to create online communities and to shape our identities. It is essential that we are aware about safety. Protecting your computer and keeping your personal information private is really important in today’s scenario to avoid any mishaps in the future. For that you need to learn about the virus protection and encryption of your hard drive which you can learn by watching a video or reading an article.

Know the digital culture

The Internet enables us to connect with any part of the world and to create shared experiences and online content. We are also able to make friends with a much larger and culturally diverse set of people. It has become crucial to have a clear idea about cyber ethics, security, privacy and policies. Make sure to keep yourself updated about the ethics and privacy policies to keep using the internet more effectively and securely 

Finding the right information

With so much information available on the internet, it is sometimes difficult to sort between real information, misinformation, opinions, and bias. Don’t rely on search engines such as Google to do all the research for you and know where you want to start. Think before you search to have a clear idea. And look at other aspects of the available information to ensure its credibility.

Practical and Functional skills

Practical and Functional skills are paramount when it comes to being digitally literate. So you need to practice and have hands -on experience in using digital technologies. Whether it is a mobile phone or a laptop, applying all that you have learnt and practicing it regularly will help you become fluent in using digital technologies. 

Digital dictionary keeps changing with the passage of time. However, do not get overwhelmed by the continuously changing technology. You just have to keep moving forward and invest your time in learning new digital skills to stay updated and become digitally literate.