Digital literacy today

September 24, 2012

                "Simply put, we can’t keep preparing students for a world that doesn’t exist. We can’t keep ignoring the formidable cognitive skills they’re developing on their own. And above all, we must stop disparaging digital prowess just because some of us over 40 don’t happen to possess it. An institutional grudge match with the young can sabotage an entire culture."

-Dustin Anderson

The future is literacy stands before all of us today in the world. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and online games are just a few examples of digital literacy through very popular forms of communication. In school, these things are seen as the enemy of communal skills and socialization. Most adults will see view this type of cultural with some negativity and disregard the importance of the digital literacy that is seen just about everywhere in today’s world. Much of the youth today are developing most of their own cognitive skills today by what they read, see, or hear over the internet most of the time. They can interact by leaving comments and statuses posing their own voice, ideas, and opinions. Much of these people are very influential to the progression of digital literacy. So, why can’t most people ages 40 and over see the same thing positive aspects as those that the youth can? It can be difficult if one is not born and or raised into this type of culture. The technological progress that is occurring in this generation is far faster and advanced than that of the last century. Older people will not see the same things in the social communication today as someone who hears about it all the time from friends and other sources. Postal mail and land-line phone calls are becoming outdated. When you ask for the time, what do you see more: people checking their watches if they have one, or people checking their phones?

Digital literacy can be seen with negative aspects by a lot of people that disregard it or don’t understand it as well as younger people. Social skills, new means of communication, and new cultures are progressing every day thanks to today’s digital literacy.