SO WHAT EXACTLY IS DIGITAL LITERACY?
Understanding Digital Literacy; Digital literacy is a broad term that involves developing your skills in digital management and organisation, being competent at online communication and understanding online safety (ACARA, 2024). Being capable of engaging on different digital platforms with confidence and success, lies at the heart of being digitally literate.
Student Goals
- Use communication skills successfully when online.
- Recognise misinformation, disinformation and fake media.
- Responsibly use digital devices.
- Make informed decisions about digital consumption.
(Biezā, 2020).
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88% of young Australians consumed news from at least one source daily (Notely et al., 2020).
Faking it...
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Social media is leading the way as the most popular means of teenagers consuming news stories (Oden & Porter, 2023). With this trend in mind, social media is set to continue to influence young people’s perception and understanding of global news events.
Nevertheless, you need to be mindful of what you read and whether you can trust this as a ‘real’ news story. Not all online news is truthful.
The average person can bring their own opinions to real events through online chat groups which can be a valuable sharing experience. Yet it must be noted, that care needs to be taken when consuming online information due to the continuing rise of fake news (Wang et al., 2019).
So please remember, it is important to exercise caution when reading online material. Check other sources when evaluating web content and learn how to spot untrustworthy sites.
How to spot misinformation
(Maher, 2023)
© Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Recently, the rapid development of AI-generated videos, audio and images called deepfakes are causing concern.
Taylor Swift has experienced a number of harmful fake images and voice recordings made through strangers and scam campaigns without her consent (Hsu, 2024).
Tips
- Develop your own knowledge in understanding deepfakes.
- Be cautious with online news sources. Question everything.
- Report suspicious content and block potentially harmful sites.
- Use reliable platforms and websites you know you can trust.
Troubling trends...
sweet as...
Being a good citizen
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Being a good digital citizen involves more than being digitally literate (Martin et al., 2019). Such values as promoting fairness, embracing diversity, and acting with kindness are important for a thriving community.
Balancing your abilities in both digital and non-digital skills are essential attributes for being an upstanding citizen (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, 2023). This idea encourages active online engagement , rather than being a passive consumer (Buchholz et al., 2020).
Digital leader
Digital leaders are excited about new technology and what it can do in the future. Instead of being scared of change, see the good it can bring to the world. Try to consider how to use the internet and social media platforms for positive, caring purposes. (Optus, 2019). You can do this by standing up for what is right, both locally and globally. Have a look at these:
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top tips
Some tips on being an active digital citizen:
1.Evaluate what you read online. Can you identify any unconvincing content? You might also look for a biased point of view.
2.Try creating your own content that will make a positive, meaningful contribution.
3.Respect other people’s privacy by considering what you post and always asking permission before you share someone’s photo.
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