When we thought digital literacy meant knowing how to turn on a computer

July 2024

At our adult education center, we long believed that we could assess participants’ digital skills fairly quickly. If someone knew how to turn on a computer, open a web browser, and maybe write an email, we’d think, “Okay, they’ve got the basics.”

But then we started paying closer attention.

We remember a participant who sat down at a computer, confidently opened a browser, and typed in a search term. Seemingly without any trouble. But when he got the results, he clicked on the first link without even looking to see where it came from. When we asked him why he chose that one, he simply replied, “Because it was the first one.”

And in that moment, we realized: digital literacy isn’t just knowing how to click. Digital literacy is knowing where to click—and why.

We used to trust books. Today, we trust the screen.

If we think back, everything used to be more physical. If you wanted information, you went to the library. If you found a book, you knew who wrote it. The book didn’t just jump out at you. You had to find it, open it, flip through it.

Today, however, information jumps out at us. On its own. Effortlessly.

And that is precisely the trap.

Because when something comes easily, we often don’t stop to consider whether it’s true, verified, or even makes sense.

In our training sessions, we have often seen how confidently participants use digital devices, yet at the same time doubt themselves when they have to judge whether information is reliable. Some even write down website addresses on a piece of paper—not because they don’t know how to save a bookmark, but because they still trust paper more.

And honestly? We completely understand that.

Paper doesn’t change overnight. The internet does.

We, too, had to learn to look at things anew

When we started working on the DigCompAE project, we initially thought we would be analyzing our participants’ digital competences. But we very quickly realized that we were analyzing our own as well.

We realized that digital competence is not a single skill. It is a collection of small decisions we make every day:

• Do we verify the source of information?
• Do we notice who is behind the website?
• Can we compare multiple sources?
• Can we admit that we don’t know—and look for the answer?

These are not technical questions. These are questions of understanding.

And sometimes we clicked too quickly, too.

The most interesting realization was that many people already possess these skills—they just don’t know it

At our adult education center, we meet people with very different backgrounds. Some have worked in manufacturing for many years, others in the service industry, and still others went to school at a time when computers didn’t even exist.

And yet, when we observe their thinking, we see something important: the ability to think critically.

One of the participants once said: “I don’t believe everything I read right away. First, I ask my daughter.”

At first glance, this isn’t a digital skill. But in reality, it is. It means she understands that information needs to be verified. It means she understands that not everything is self-evident.

Digital competence doesn’t start with a device. It starts with thinking.

The biggest change isn’t technical. It’s personal.

When someone realizes for the first time that they can verify information themselves, that they can judge for themselves, that they can make their own decisions—it’s not just their use of technology that changes.

Their relationship with the world changes.

Suddenly, they are no longer a passive observer. They become an active participant.

We see this in small moments. When someone says, “I’ll take another look.”

Or, “I don’t think this site is reliable.”

Or simply, “Now I understand.”

These are huge steps.

Digital literacy isn’t something you master once and for all

It’s not like a driver’s test. There’s no moment when you say, “Now I know it.”

Technology changes. Tools change. The world changes.

And we change with it.

At our adult education center, we learn together with our participants every day. Sometimes we show them, sometimes they show us. And that is the essence of adult learning—it is a process, not a goal.

The DigCompAE project has helped us understand that digital competencies are not reserved for young people. They are not reserved for experts. They are not reserved for “techies.”

They are for all of us.

Because today, digital literacy isn’t just knowing how to turn on a computer.

Digital literacy is understanding the world that opens up when you turn it on.