Digital Native Does Not Mean Digitally Literate
For many, there is a difference between being able to drive a car and being able to repair a car. Just because you can drive, doesn’t mean you know how (or maybe just don’t want) to work on your car yourself. The digital world is the same way–by design, our devices are generally easy to use but less easy to deeply understand. Just because you can use a device, doesn’t mean you’re proficient in digital literacy. Digital literacy extends beyond the ability to use a device to a much wider array of skills including evaluating the trustworthiness of information. It encompasses such a broad range of skills that some experts prefer to list specific skills rather than use the term “digital literacy.”
There’s a common assumption that a lack of digital literacy skills is more likely in people who are older, who may have adopted tech later in life. In some regards this can be true because there is a set of basel...