Question

Role of digital information in everyday life

Answer 1

Our era has come to see the vital importance of digital technology in our daily lives. It allows us to unlock a huge collection of information and communication data. Each kind of task, be it a regular task or a job specific task requires digital proficiency or literacy. Digital literacy can be defined as "the ability to use digital technology, communications tools, and or networks to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, and create information in order to function in a knowledge society" (Lemke, 2003). The execution of a successful approach for the advancement of digital literacy skills is known to include multiple components that tackle hurdles for explicit demographics such as; attitude, age, socio�economic status, language, and regional availability of resources. In order to increase digital literacy levels strategies must be targeted and implemented, where necessary for specific populations and situations keeping an account of different obstacles. According to (Castells, 2009) there is a technological transformation with the increasing use of internet access. Therefore, technology transforms the mode or platform in which we converse and process knowledge. A substantive growth in execution of information and communications requires improvement in quality of life and development by preparing people for a knowledge society. As said by (Castells 2009, pg 21) networks demonstrate strength in their flexibility, adaptability and capacity to self configure. Therefore networking is here to reside and education has no alternative but embrace it. In this essay the basic focus is on the need to develop nation's digital skills at all levels as it is gradually becoming important in the present period where technology and its benefits are becoming more sophisticated and pervasive. By critically discussing whether developing the nation's digital skills at all levels helps in achieving fairness rather than amplifying it in the presence of various inequalities?

The Digital Britain report sets out an action plan to contribute its full potential to secure UK's place as one of the world's foremost digital knowledge economies which is significantly dependent on having enough people with the accurate skills in the exact place at the precise time by applying new technologies; further assembling a high class of professionals and ensuring Britain's future prosperity. The issue is not only of financial competitiveness, but also of fairness which is defined as ensuring that all have access to the content, services and skills to contribute and connect effectively to the digital economy and the benefits are available to all. There is an immense range of services delivered online while also a hazardous threat to those who lack or struggle to access technology. Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media (November 2007) believes that "It is neither morally acceptable nor economically sustainable to leave millions of people behind, unable to use information and communications technologies to their advantage." However it is of upmost importance to transform the lives of those who are excluded in order to avoid the major parts of our society being deprived and enduringly lag behind. Though, the matters about digital exclusion broaden far-off than ensuring access to internet albeit with the increasing role of the internet in daily life, an analysis of utilizing the opportunities offered by the internet is of fundamental significance.