Digital Literacy for Young Peeps

Digital Literacy becomes increasingly important. We talk about it even more since the pandemic. Still the topic remains blurry and poorly explained. Here is my attempt to bring clarity.

#1 Understand and use Information

Empowerment to safely navigate the information age: explore and consume information without being fooled.

Search for information on the Internet.

Find, filter and sort information using search engines, platforms and apps. Learn about improving search terms, ranking and avoiding human biases.

Identify fake information.

Evaluate information based on credibility and source. Distinguish different types of content and sources, such as Wikis, Blogs, Advertisement, Social Media. Use methods like triangulation.

Understanding the value of your information.

Data is like oil and there is a reason services are free. Understand what economic value personal data has for companies and what business models monetise your information.

Share information carefully.

Knowing what personal information is harmless to share and what isn’t. Define own boundaries between private and public information. Reflect on sharing behaviour.

Think critically about what you read.

Identify advertisement, unmoderated content (e.g. blogs, social media) and computer-created content (e.g. bots). Be aware of bias - reflect on how culture and values influence perception and interpretation of information.

#2 Behaving responsibly

Responsibility doesn’t stop in the physical world. Know how to prevent damage and consequences from the online world in your real life.

Behave digitally sustainable.

Be aware of energy consumption of the Internet and devices. Think about use and sourcing of materials and tech-garbage and it’s impact and consequences for climate and people, especially third world countries.

Accept digital liability.

Take ownership of created content and be aware of legal consequences of misuse or ignorance of information.

See the bigger picture.

All actions and decision on the Internet have consequences for the “real world”. See and understand complex relations and include politics, global economy and supply chains, as well as science, culture and arts as parts of the digitalised world.

#3 Being and behaving social and fair

Also online — follow the golden rule: Treat others as you would like others to treat you.

Be empathetic with everyone.

Behind every online profile is a real person. Be empathetic and understanding with their personality, backgrounds and culture. Not everyone is the same: be aware of different capabilities and interest based on age, culture, physical and mental health.

Create and maintain your digital identity.

A digital identity is part of your real identity. Take care of social media profiles, manage personal information and privacy setting. Identify fake accounts and avoid cat-fishing.

Be aware of cyber mobbing and racism.

Be an up-stander, tolerant and brave — also on the Internet. See and stop harassment and cyber mobbing and use online reporting. Tolerate and support diversity in believes, color, gender, … Block trolls, who spread false information, lies or provocations.

#4 Organising and protecting yourself

Keep your data and information all tidied up and secure. Don’t get screwed over or manipulated.

Organise yourself and your data.

Make use of online To-Do lists, calendars, reminders and timers. Stay organised everywhere through folder structures, use of keywords and categories, metadata, naming conventions and cloud storage.

Protect your files.

Using cloud storage and online tools to work with and store private and school-related has risks. Be aware of hacking and leaking data, making backups and limited availability when offline or a service shuts down.

Protect yourself from spam and social engineering.

Be aware of people tricking you into spending money or forcefully intruding your privacy, even trying to harm: spam e-mails, malicious email attachments or bots, phishing, trojans, adware and viruses.

Be aware of your digital footprint.

Every action on the Internet leaves trails. Be aware of your privacy settings, cookies, browsing history and unique identification via IP addresses. Understand what Internet Providers do and how data travels through the distributed world wide web across countries, servers, routers and firewalls.

Be secure surfing the Internet.

Use strong passwords, a firewall and 2-Factor-Authentication to protect your personal data and avoid financial fraud. Be aware of what information you share when creating accounts and buying things.

#5 Creating and using things (together)

Use the power of digital tools to bring ideas to life and respect digital property of others.

Create digital contents using text and media.

Have textual and medial skills to create content: writing assignment, posts and emails, record and edit audio + video. Be capable of essentials of word processing, building presentations and calculating with spreadsheets.

Create websites and apps.

Know about the fundamental web technologies and concepts our Internet is built on: JavaScript, CSS, HTML, HTTP, hyperlinks. Use simple WYSIWYG editors, website builders or prototyping tools to bring ideas to life.

Think like a programmer.

Think hybrid by being both analytical, creative and empathetic. Learn how to abstract problems and transform them into challenges, that can be easily solved by basic coding structures like conditions, loops and functions.

Collaborate and communicate online with others.

Use real-time collaboration in online tools combined with video calling or chatting. Leverage useful web tools like virtual whiteboards, instant group chats and cloud sharing.

Respect and protect intellectual property.

Consider ownership, copywriting rights and licensing when using software or digital contents. Know legal risks of plagiarism, piracy and taking photos of others. Make use of open source software and free of charge content, like Creative Commons licenses.

#6 Spending time together.

Enjoy your time online with friends without worrying about bullies.

Understand social media and online communities.

Understand the key concepts of social media platforms, exponential growth and how online platforms have grown into the most powerful phenomenon of the 21st century.

Use social media and online communities safely.

Build your online identity, form groups, chat with friends, share and consume online contents — how it’s different from real life and how to use it safely to be fair to others and not being harmed yourself.

Manage being continuously online.

Be aware how “being online” all the time and everywhere affects your life, making decisions and forming relationships. Learn to separate the online and offline world and set boundaries, rules and structures.

#7 Making and spending money

Understand the Internet as a global marketplace with risks and benefits.

Understand advertisement and brands.

Understand the basics of brands and marketing, what you pay for seemingly free products like YouTube and Instagram and how advertisement is used for manipulation.

Shop and pay responsibly online.

Identify online shopping/ credit card scams and learn about dealing with money when shopping in online — like subscriptions with recurring payments, overspending and app purchases.

Know how money is made in the online world.

Know about how your favourite blogger or influencer monetise your screen time and interest.