Digital Literacy and Access Is a Human Rights Issue
In today’s increasingly technological society, many vital tasks have become digital, including accessing healthcare, managing one’s finances, applying for government services, and searching and applying for jobs. Yet, over 30 % of all Europeans still lack access to high-speed internet, or broadband, at home, with underserved communities even more likely to be offline. Lack of access to crucial online resources is a human rights issue, exacerbating already existing social and economic inequalities.
Tackling the Digital Divide is a critical social and economic rights issue. It is a human rights issue. Broadband must be affordable and accessible to all. Digital literacy programs are crucial for all individuals to effectively use the internet even after they can access the resources. Stand up for digital equity today.
All individuals have the right to digital literacy, and assurances should be given that they will be able to find and assess online information, to create their own content, to securely communicate and navigate on the Internet, and to have any technical problems they may encounter resolved.
The Importance of Digital Access
In 2016, the United Nations General Assembly declared internet access to be a basic human right, and COVID-19 forced societies to acknowledge that broadband has indeed become “essential infrastructure.”
Health Outcomes:
The EU considers broadband access to be a “super” determinant of health. Individuals without internet access are unable to access telehealth medicine, which has increased over 38% since the start of the pandemic. They are also unable to quickly find health-related information online, search vaccine availability, or receive notifications through contract tracing if they have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. Additionally, 1 in 3 adults suffer depression, which is only worsened when folks cannot keep in touch virtually with their loved ones.
Economic Outcomes:
The internet facilitates educational and professional growth. It allows individuals to take advantage of online courses, gain new skills, apply for jobs, and learn about other opportunities that can increase one’s earnings potential. It can also help people obtain lower consumer prices, manage their finances through virtual banking, and pay online bills.
Educational Outcomes:
Students needed fast home internet services when classes became virtual during the pandemic, but even now that they have largely returned to in-person settings, 1 in 5 European teens report being unable to do their homework “often” or “sometimes” due to unreliable internet.
Civic Engagement:
Studies have also found that, with the internet, individuals are more likely to be politically active, as they can more easily contact public officials or sign petitions.
Competencies for digital literacy can be classified according to three main principles:
- Use,
- Understand and
- Create.
This Digital Literacy model was published in Mediasmarts, Canada and illustrates the many interrelated elements that fall under the digital literacy umbrella.
As Douglas Belshaw puts it, “Digital literacies are transient: they change over time, may involve using different tools or developing different habits of mind, and almost always depend upon the context in which an individual finds herself.”
Given how quickly and frequently our media world is evolving, developing and maintaining one’s digital literacy is a lifelong process.