Literacy in the Modern World

Literacy is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, and is commonly thought of, as a noun meaning, “to be literate.” The definition of literate is then to be, “able to read and write.” However, if you look past that first definition provided by the dictionary and people’s immediate reactions to the word, then to be literate is defined as, “having knowledge or competence.” This less specific, but more accurate, definition of literacy is the one that should be considered and elaborated on for life and for the classroom.

In the past century or so, technology has advanced immensely. It has reached all levels of society and has become an imperative part of everyday life for most American students. It is important to take the time to gain a high level of digital literacy as soon as possible because of how quickly technology is changing and how important it has become in modern society.

Technology has increased the amount of digital media that each person sees every day, hour and minute. This is a large part of why the definition of literate has become so much more complex than just, “able to read and write. It is no longer that a literate person understands one’s native language and can translate that language to paper and that an illiterate person cannot. This translates directly to the modern education classroom because teachers want students to have high literacy levels. However, it also applies directly to the everyday life of the average citizens because it is expected that people will understand and be able to properly analyze or utilize new media.

The be literate in the 21st century requires digital literacy. One must know how to turn on a computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. They must be aware of the many different functions of their device. This is the most basic level of digital literacy. There is much more that is part of digital literacy, as well.

For example, a person who is fully literate in the accepted meaning of the term, they know that they write differently in a formal letter to a colleague than to a friend or family member. Similarly, one who is digitally literate understands then nuances accompanying different social media or digital sources. To be literate on Instagram, one must know that the picture is the main focus of any post. The accompanying caption and comments are simply to react to or elaborate on the posted photograph. However, on Twitter, one posts a short, less than 280 characters, “Tweet” in which the main focus is on words rather than pictures. Even knowledge of these subtle differences is only a basic part of digital literacy.

One must acknowledge, be aware of and be able to determine serious, authentic posts from others. The internet is open to all who can connect to it. There are virtually no limitations to what can be posted on the internet. This allows for illegitimate posts being passed off as legitimate ones, humorous posts being interpreted as earnest, advertisements being believed beyond doubt, and more. Often, media sites will try to help their users determine between real and fake content. Twitter does this by “verifying” some of its most important users, such as celebrities, politicians and large companies. Despite, this effort false information can still be made to seem true. For example, the tweet to below (Figure 1) is one that is seemingly verifiable, and

therefore extremely alarming for whoever may have read during Obama’s time in the White House. However, this tweet was created through the use of a site entirely separate from Twitter.

There are sites created specifically to create realistic imitations tweets, Facebook statuses, Instagram posts, and even news articles. Part of being digitally literate requires on to be able to determine the small differences in these hoaxes from real posts.

This tweet (Figure 2) is one from my own profile, therefore I am entirely sure that it is real. There are many, insignificant differences between this tweet and the one supposedly tweeted by Associated Press’ account. The date and time are listed above the number of retweets and favorites, rather than below. The pictures of those who favorited the tweet are circular, rather than square. The option to retweet or favorite the tweet is depicted using symbols, rather than the actual words. Somebody who is not digitally literate would not be able to determine these differences unless provided with a real and fake tweet side by side. Therefore, they may be unfortunately tricked into believing many inaccurate and entirely fake posts.

Even those who can determine the validity of these tweets without looking at them side by side, cannot be considered fully digitally literate, or even just “Twitter-literate.” A person must ensure that their Applications and sites have been updated recently. If not, there may be changes made by the site itself for all members that they missed. Twitter recently changed their character count from 140 to 280.

If a user did not update Twitter, then they would see a tweet with over 140 characters and assume it was invalid and possibly discredit important, accurate information. Digital literacy requires the constant and active use of digital media, in order to remain well versed.

Technological advancements have provided the human race with more information and opportunity than ever experienced. While this is obviously a positive thing, it creates a large amount of work for those who take advantage of it, including teachers and students.

People can learn more quickly but, they must be digitally literate to learn anything of substance. Teachers, students, and all people must know how to navigate the functions of their device, what sites and social media to use for entertainment and for acquiring knowledge, and how to use those sites properly for either. Digital literacy exists on a spectrum; there is always the possibility of achieving a higher level of literacy. This goal is to understand how to achieve higher levels of literacy and work towards them, together. In a digitally literate world, the possibilities, especially for students, are virtually endless.

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