8 digital skills we must teach our children

The social and economic impact of technology is widespread and accelerating.

The speed and volume of information have increased exponentially.

Experts are predicting that 90% of the entire population will be connected to the internet within 10 years.

With the internet of things, the digital and physical worlds will soon be merged.

These changes herald exciting possibilities.

But they also create uncertainty.

And writing for the World Economic Forum, Yuhyun Park — the chair of the infollution ZERO Foundation, said our kids are at the centre of this dynamic change and they will use technology very differently to their parents.

So as parents it is critical for us to equip them with digital intelligence.

According to Park, Digital intelligence or “DQ” is the set of social, emotional and cognitive abilities that enable individuals to face the challenges and adapt to the demands of digital life.

These abilities can broadly be broken down into eight interconnected areas:

1. Digital identity: The ability to create and manage one’s online identity and reputation. This includes an awareness of one’s online persona and management of the short-term and long-term impact of one’s online presence. [adrotate group=”8"]

2. Digital use: The ability to use digital devices and media, including the mastery of control in order to achieve a healthy balance between life online and offline.

3. Digital safety: The ability to manage risks online (e.g. cyberbullying, grooming, radicalization) as well as problematic content (e.g. violence and obscenity), and to avoid and limit these risks.

4. Digital security: The ability to detect cyber threats (e.g. hacking, scams, malware), to understand best practices and to use suitable security tools for data protection.

5. Digital emotional intelligence: The ability to be empathetic and build good relationships with others online.

6. Digital communication: The ability to communicate and collaborate with others using digital technologies and media.

7. Digital literacy: The ability to find, evaluate, utilize, share and create content as well as competency in computational thinking.

8. Digital rights: The ability to understand and uphold personal and legal rights, including the rights to privacy, intellectual property, freedom of speech and protection from hate speech.

Source: World Economic Forum

Originally published at Property Update.