3.6 Moving Forward: Digital Literacy

In this chapter, we learned how automated algorithms, technologies meant to cause harm, and people’s online behavior combine to impact the online information they encounter. The best method to ensure we understand how to distinguish true information from false in this increasingly complex digital environment is to become digitally literate. Digital literacy is a set of skills that includes both information evaluation and the ability to use technology (Leaning, 2018). People who understand how information is created and spread over the Internet are less likely to spread false information and they are better able to evaluate the truthfulness of a source (Buchanan, 2020). Being digitally literate includes simple things like knowing when to report posts on social media or understanding how search results are presented. A basic understanding of algorithms and newsfeeds is a positive step towards effectively evaluating information.