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Digital skills are an absolute necessity to navigate both the world of today and the world of the future. No one could have predicted our lifestyles today only 50 years ago, except maybe science fiction writers. Who could have known that hand-held devices would be so prevalent and important that they would essentially be extensions of our limbs? In the same vein, few today can imagine what the world of tomorrow will look like. One thing the few agree on, however, is that digital skills will only grow in importance as we advance into the future.
Our experiences, interactions, and whole lives are increasingly becoming virtual. Just like we need certain social and technical skills to navigate the physical world, so do we need the same for the virtual world. This set of social and technical skills is collectively called ‘digital skills’. Here are some of the most important digital skills you should master to become a productive member of the world of tomorrow.
1. Content Curation and Creation
Content rules the online world of today. It is what keeps us online, educates us, and even gains us recognition among our peers. The ability to create or curate valuable content in the world of today and tomorrow is akin to a superpower. It is what makes us valuable members of the society.
There are many types of content: videos, images, articles, spreadsheets, infographics, and so on. You should be able to work with at least some of these. Whether it’s mastering creating and editing videos and images, or writing interesting and thought-provoking articles, or creating infographics, content is king and to master content is to master the digital world.
Content creation and curation is arguably becoming a form of digital literacy. It has numerous applications and benefits and the ability to make meaning out of the mass of content that exists on the internet is going to be a valuable aspect of both a person’s career and their private life.
2. Coding
Here is yet another digital literacy skill that is becoming more and more important by the day. Just as learning to read and write is a valuable part of being able to communicate with other human beings, learning to code will become a valuable part of being able to communicate with machines. Machines are becoming an increasingly significant part of our community, and soon the ability to communicate with them and make them do as we wish will become a basic requirement, rather than a superpower.
Of course, no one is saying you should now dedicate all your time to coding and abandon everything else, immersing yourself in all the aspects of the world of computer science. However, some basic skills would be great to learn. Start by learning some HTML5 and CSS3, the languages that enable you to create pages and sites on the web. With the increasing predominance of the web, this is a bare minimum of knowledge of coding that will be required in the future.
3. Efficient Use of the Internet
The internet is perhaps the single greatest invention of mankind. It has effectively eliminated the limitations of geographical distance to a large extent. It has brought the world to everyone’s fingertips. If you want to learn anything or consume any kind of content, then the World Wide Web is right there for you to peruse. Transactions, relationships, businesses, and schools are all moving online. Even your education needs to be more efficient. Today you can check essay services by EduBirdie and other writing services in minutes when getting ideas for your assignment research. With all these tools at our fingertips, only efficiency can unleash their true power.
The world will only grow increasingly connected in the future, and one of the most important digital skills you can develop for that world is to know how to use the intent effectively. If you’re a learner, knowing where to find the best teachers and courses for your particular situation is important. If you’re a researcher, knowing where to source the most credible information is important. Whatever you do or are, knowing how to effectively use the internet to meet your ends is going to be an important skill of the future.
4. Data
Data is the oil and gold of the future. Your data is more valuable than you can imagine. It is ever at the risk of being lost, erased, stolen, or changed. Having the skills to preserve and protect data, especially personal data, is therefore going to be an important skill of the future. With more cloud and cyber security solutions coming up every day, it is becoming more and more important to know how to leverage these solutions to safeguard your data.
5. Social Media
Social media has permeated our lives so much that today it is the primary means by which we communicate and how information flows around the world. It is important for close intimate relationships, professional relationships, large communities, marketing, business, and human interaction in general.
Knowing how to navigate the world of social media is an important skill today, and will only become more and more important in the times to come. Arguably, the greatest power that the internet gives us is not to be able to connect with everyone, but rather the ability to choose who we connect with. In a way, social media gives us a chance to create our own little universe; an environment conducive to our growth in the directions that we want. Some may call that an echo chamber, others call it creating the life and reality that you want.
Conclusion
The future is bright, especially if everyone works to make their own individual future bright. By mastering the most important digital skills, you can navigate your way through the world today as well as in the future and make your life both easier and more fulfilling.
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