Digital technology has evolved significantly in the past couple of decades. This evolution of digital technology has changed the way we interact with our surroundings or perform daily life tasks. Tasks like shopping, making payments, sending emails, communicating with someone, etc have changed completely thanks to technology. The developments in the field of technology and the Internet have spread out to almost every corner of the world and basic tasks like payments, communication, shopping, etc require us to be aware of the digital world.
Awareness regarding the digital world can be promoted through digital literacy, which in simple words means understanding the use of digital technologies and devices to fulfill our basic needs. The need for understanding the use of mobile and computing devices has become necessary to get tasks like paying bills, making payments, shopping online, and communicating with someone done.
Digital devices are everywhere, the screen that you are reading this on, is also a part of a digital device. Apart from this, almost everyone owns a smartphone nowadays and if you know how to use a smartphone to get various things done, you are considered digitally literate. In a country like India where internet penetration is increasing with every passing day, digital literacy is very important. For this reason, we will be discussing a few points that elaborate on the importance of digital literacy in India:
An Important Life Skill
Digital literacy is now an important life skill that people need to deal with the challenges they face every day. Whatever age group or profession you belong to, digital literacy has become an important skill. Whether you are a student, teacher, businessman, or senior citizen, in order to cope with the technology of today, you will have to be digitally literate. A person who is digitally literate can easily get things done for himself and adapt to the changing needs of this digital world.
A digitally literate person doesn’t face any sort of problem dealing with everyday activities such as watching the news, buying something from the internet, using electronic gadgets, online payments, etc. There was a time when it used to be an option to be digitally literate but now it has become the demand of the time.
Students Need It
Those days are long past when learning was limited to textbooks and classrooms only. There is so much information and learning material available on the internet that students can access required information any time they want to get a better understanding. But to be able to get the required information and study material, students should be digitally literate. They should know how to set up their internet network through 192.168.0.1, how to use the internet, and how to access the learning material.
There is so much study material and learning information available on the internet that learning & education are no longer restricted to physical textbooks. This technology also helps students to become more efficient by helping them with homework and assignments & removing the barriers to communication that existed between students and teachers.
Important For Internet Safety
Digital literacy is also important to stay safe on the internet. The internet is helpful in many ways but has its associated risks, especially for the younger generation. Although the young generation knows how to use digital gadgets and the internet, they aren’t very considerate and careful about their digital safety.
Digital literacy skills are important not only for younger generations but for all generations to stay safe on the internet. On the internet, you can become an easy target for cybercriminals but by having appropriate knowledge about the internet, the default gateway address 192.168.1.1, digital platforms that you are using, and precautions to stay safe on the internet, you can stay safe on the internet.
Requirement For Employment
Digital skills are also important for employment. Nowadays, wherever you apply for a job, your employers expect you to have digital skills. It has become a requirement not only in India but worldwide for employees to be digitally literate since most things are now being done on computers.
When hiring for jobs, employers now look for the most digitally literate candidates who also excel at their particular field. Employers consider job candidates who have a strong presence on the internet since they are considered to be more tech-savvy and more digitally literate. So, it is up to you whether to learn these skills or not.
Important For Communication
Digital literacy is also required for communication in our modern world. Gone are the days of landlines, this is the era of email and instant messengers like WhatsApp. To be able to use these modern modes of communication and stay in touch with your loved ones, you will have to be digitally literate.