And Lastly, Digital Literacy
Rheingold’s article posed an interesting idea: Humans are the ones that have the power to decide which information is accurate and which information is inaccurate online. He says, “…it’s up to you, the human who is using the machine, to sort the accurate bits and the ones that have immediate relevance for you and your circumstances from the ignorantly or maliciously inaccurate information” (Rheingold, 2012, pg. 16). And, this really is in our control. It’s so easy to just accept and believe what we see online. However, it’s really important to check website validity and author credibility to determine if a source is really worth believing, which is easier to do when one’s digital literacy is more advanced.
Rheingold’s comment is something that I will take away from this class. In recent years, I have stepped up my fact-checking game when doing any sort of research project, but this is something that has lacked in my personal life. When I’m curious about something random, I really just look at the first three results on the Search Engine Results Page and don’t even question their validity. I think it would be really beneficial if I took the time to at least read about the website that I’m on and view the background of the author so that I can get a better idea of the information’s accuracy. Doing so will for sure heighten my digital literacy. It’s kind of tedious to do but will probably be worth it in the end!
