9 essential digital skills you should learn to navigate life 💻-
Introduction 👋
Navigating adulthood can be challenging, particularly when surrounded by so much technology.
From managing your finances online or finding a job, to developing relationships, there are plenty of obstacles to overcome in the digital world.
To successfully navigate adult life, mastering digital life skills is essential.
But what exactly are these skills needed to navigate daily life?
Today, we’re giving you the ultimate guide to essential digital life skills.
What are digital life skills? 🛠️
Digital life skills are the different skills and abilities that help us to navigate life in the digital world. 🗺️
These are the types of digital skills you need to help you to navigate things like:
- Looking after your money 💰
- Relationships
- Making money and working 💼
- Communicating online
- Looking after your health and wellbeing 🥦
Digital life skills go beyond the type of academic knowledge you might learn at school, and instead focus on your overall personal development, social interactions, and practical know-how for creating a happy and healthy life for yourself.
Learning digital life skills are so important because they help people to understand the online world, and interact with it. Digital life skills also help people to understand themselves, and their impact on others in the digital world. 💖
Digital life skills 💻
1. Navigating technology 🗺️
This includes things like:
- Operating different types of tech e.g. laptops, iPads 💻
- Navigating operating systems e.g. Windows, Linux, macOS
- Understanding file management and where to get files 🗃️
- Using keyboard shortcuts
- Understanding computer hardware e.g. keyboards, mice, USB sticks, external hard drives 🖱️
2. Using the internet 📶
This includes things like:
- Using search engines 🔍
- Learning how browsers work
- Evaluating website credibility ✅
- Using secure connections (https://)
3. Digital communication 📧
This includes things like:
- Writing, sending, and managing emails ✍️
- Making online phone and video calls
- Creating digital presentations 📊
- Using social media and messaging apps e.g. WhatsApp, Messenger
- Video conferencing tools (Zoom, Skype, Google Meet) 🤳
- Using online forums and communities
- Creating online profiles 🙋♀️
- Using different digital media to communicate e.g. creating videos, podcasts, digital art, websites
- Collaborating online e.g. Microsoft Teams, shared files 🔀
4. Digital safety and wellbeing 🔐
This includes things like:
- Using antivirus software 🦠
- Recognising online scams and social engineering
- Understanding and using biometric technology👁️
- Creating secure passwords or using password managers
- Recognising unsafe emails 📧
- Using multi factor authentication
- Understanding and managing privacy settings on communication platforms 🔐
- Awareness of how what you share online can impact your safety
- Controlling your media usage to safeguard your mental health 🧠
- Tailoring your social platforms and digital usage to support your wellbeing positively
- Sharing information online responsibly 🤫
- Identifying fake news and misinformation online
5. Digital finance 💷
This includes things like:
- Online banking and financial transactions 🏦
- Budgeting and expense tracking apps
- Digital payment methods (PayPal, card payments, etc.) 💳
- Understanding online credit scores and reports
- Protecting financial information online 🤫
- Recognising and avoiding online financial scams
- Investing through online platforms for things like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds 📈
- Filing taxes electronically with tax preparation software
- Accessing financial literacy resources online for education 🎓
- Managing insurance policies through online portals
- Utilising online calculators and tools for salary calculations, mortgage calculations, loan comparisons, and retirement planning projections ➗
- Setting up automatic savings transfers and recurring payments through online banking
- Managing debt repayment strategies and consolidating loans through online platforms 🌪️
- Comparing financial products online
6. Online learning 👩🎓
This includes things like:
- Accessing online courses and educational resources 👩🏫
- Participating in webinars and virtual workshops
- Using language learning apps and platforms 💬
- Using online communities for knowledge sharing and collaboration
7. Digital career skills 💼
This includes things like:
- Creating a CV/resume and cover letters ✉️
- Digital research skills – finding job opportunities, researching companies and industries
- Online networking – building professional relationships, utilising contacts for job leads 🕸️
- Virtual job interview skills – using webcams and video conferencing software.
- Online presentation skills – creating and delivering online presentations. 🔊
- Digital personal branding – presenting yourself well in the digital space e.g. on social media, on Google
8. Digital health management 👩⚕️
This includes things like:
- Using fitness tracking apps 🏃♀️
- Meditation and mindfulness apps
- Online therapy or counseling services 💬
- Nutrition and meal planning apps
- Health record management tools 🩺
- Ensuring the privacy and security of health-related data
9. Home automation 🏡
This includes things like:
- Using smart home devices (smart lights, thermostats, etc.) 🧠
- Voice-controlled assistants (Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant)
- Remote monitoring and control of home appliances 📱
- Security systems and surveillance cameras
- Energy management tools 🌡️
- Securing IoT devices against hacking and unauthorised access
Conclusion 👍
So that’s it!
Digital life skills are the different skills and abilities that help us to navigate life online. 🗺️
There are lots of different digital skills you need to learn to navigate life, including:
- Navigating technology 🗺️
- Using the internet 📶
- Digital communication 📧
- Digital safety and wellbeing 🔐
- Digital finance 💷
- Online learning 👩🎓
- Digital career skills 💼
- Digital health management 👩⚕️
- Home automation 🏡
Learning digital life skills are so important because they help people to understand the online world, and interact with it. Digital life skills also help people to understand themselves, and their impact on others in the digital world. 💖
Hopefully this article has helped you to understand more about what digital life skills are, and why they’re important.
If you know any friends or family members who might benefit from learning about what digital life skills are, share this post with them!
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