why
Why
Digital Literacy
Our digitalized environments rely increasingly on the Internet to inform, communicate, shop, but also access services such as banking, telehealth services, governmental and administrative services, etc. Yet, despite older Europeans growingly using the Internet, their presence online remains low in comparison to other age groups.
Although the efforts to close the digital divide for the older should not rest in intensity, we believe the challenges of today’s Internet and the rapid development of fake news in the last decade require a renewal of how to approach digital literacy.
Developing digital literacy skills should expand beyond the acquisition of basic capacities in operating computers, tablets, and other smart devices into developing media literacy, critical thinking, and a proficiency to identify reliable online information.
The latter necessity gains prominence since fake-news refer directly and influence the public’s opinion, hence the social dialogue and political attitudes in topics of immense social importance, such as the refugee crisis, the social inclusion of minorities, tolerance to diversity, and many more.