[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] young people are often called digital natives meaning their home in the digital world the internet cyberspace put any device in a kid's hands and they will instinctively know their way around it and it isn't too hard to understand why we live in a digital culture where we can access the internet anytime anywhere sharing posting and streaming although we don't need to be taught how to use the internet if we don't have proper guidance we may be at risk for serious problems may not seem obvious to many of us but there are
many risks that come with the reward of accessing information immediately in the first place digital media is networked which means unlike for example traditional tv shows which is a one-way flow from the producer to you the end consumer digital media flows two ways the producers will know who is consuming their content so even if you may not know it you could be sharing your personal information now imagine you in a theater exactly like this one you can see me you can see the stage but you cannot see anyone else behind the curtains or backstage but
they can all see you they are watching you tracking your every move and learning everything about you now that that is kind of creepy isn't it the internet's like that too there's so much more going on behind the screen of your devices it's almost like a dark black hole next we also need to realize that digital media is searchable and shareable when we post something online it can be copied shared or spread easily even disappearing photos or messages can be copied and are always stored on the platform servers when we post any content on any
social platform always assume that somebody may share it so be careful of what you put out there because you may not be able to take it back finally digital media have unknown and unexpected audiences we have absolutely no control over who gets to see the things we share online digital literacy is more than knowing how to use the internet it is one of the most important skills in the 21st century and it is especially important for today's youth if literacy means the ability to read and write then digital literacy is the ability to use understand
and create content online let's discuss the first skill which is to use the ability to use isn't just googling for answers it's about how to use devices websites and other media platforms which i'm sure many of us already know how to do it also involves finding credible sources of information i could use the internet when i was in grade three i was looking for information about the lion dance for chinese new year took me around two weeks to complete my presentation i could use the internet but i wasn't fully digitally literate yet my parents taught
me early on about security and privacy i learned not to share anything personal online no names no photos no addresses i also learned to be careful about my passwords and most importantly i learned not to click on suspicious links the second skill towards digital literacy is the ability to understand the ability to understand means having the skills to judge and evaluate the things we see and hear online are we reading facts or are we reading fake news are we getting brainwashed or are we actually getting information these information we receive can change our behavior and
perception of the world so it is crucial to know when that happens and as we spend more time online we need to balance our online and offline lives we need to understand the difference between a healthy and an unhealthy online relationship we also need to contribute in our communities in a safe and responsible manner the third and last skill towards digital literacy is the ability to create and i'm not just talking about creating a presentation for your class although that counts as well i'm talking about creating blogs and posts on social media and when we
do that it is important to know that whatever we post out there can have an effect on people the information we share can be understood in many different ways so we need to be thoughtful of that use understand and create three skills to help accelerate your learning and help you become digitally literate and the next time you're in front of a screen and yes it includes your phone be mindful of the risks and apply these three skills to become a competent digital citizen thank you [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you
