Эссе: How digital navigation impacts our networked world in the future

The level of people’s digital literacy characterizes their competitiveness in modern world. It is of no consideration for what purposes you use digital devices. Of course, some people do not attach importance to such things as the Internet or great resources of a personal computer or a smartphone. It often occurs when people perform manual work. But there are also many others who believe that in the nearest future information technologies will deeply affect all spheres of our lives. I belong to the second group. I know that the meaning “digital literacy” goes beyond the ability of just usage of a computer. Not any person who uses a mobile phone, looks through the information on the Internet or is able to operate a cash machine is digitally literate. Digital literacy, first of all, it is the ability of working with digital devices having a set of certain skills and the repertoire of knowledge, at least understanding of main terms. Such skills are not mechanical at all, they need constant training. Maybe it seems a little bit difficult for some categories of people to get computer skill. For example, some elderly people are afraid of computers. But for the middle-aged and the young digital literacy is a must. Firstly, being IT literate you can develop your talents through the Internet. Composing music, learning foreign languages, drawing are easily accessible. Secondly, the world of jobs is changing. Apart from the fact that many mechanical operations and all money transactions are getting computerized, a plenty of new jobs appear every year. For example, such a work area as freelance is very popular nowadays. It is an opportunity to earn money without leaving home or being at any point of the world. However, I very often meet IT illiterate people. In these days, for instance, only 16% of Russian teachers can use digital gadgets. There are several reasons for it. One of them is the conservatism of some teachers. They do not want to change accustomed methods. As for me, the fact is shocking as our school education is behind the real needs of society. And today a lot of people believe that students are taught by the Internet, not by teachers. To sum up, I would like to say that if you want to be successful in any occupation living in the age of information technology you should constantly improve your digital literacy.