“What sort of literacy is needed in the digital age” is a question that I seek to answer throughout my research in this program and beyond.  If using the definition of created by my group of literacy being communication within the facilities of speaking, reading, writing, and listening, then I think that literacy in the digital age involves all of these as well as watching.  I define “watching” as engaging and interacting with digital text beyond physically seeing it with your eyes.  In an article by Weisz, Kiesler, Zhang, Ren, Kraut, and Konstan (2007), they speak of watching videos online as “becoming increasingly popular, and new video streaming technologies have the potential to transform video watching from a passive, isolating experience into an active, socially engaging experience” (877).  It’s through the social interaction of being able to comment on videos or offer an opinion about a topic that adds to the definition of literacy when technology is added.

Therefore, the characteristics of a technologically literate person would continue to include the maneuverability between all of those channels of literacy – reading, speaking, writing, listening, and watching.  Because use of technology can be associated with social engagement, the idea of technology as community begins to creep into the discussion.  I believe within technology literacy is where we delve into various “levels” of literacy.  The highly technologically literate person relishes in the ability to create/invent new forms of media in an effort to add to the discourse.  They not only watch and engage socially in media, but they are at the forefront of names/pseudonyms associated with a particular technological platform.  Examples of this would include the “Instagram [IG] model” or the “Tom” character on Facebook.  These names are familiar to everyone in the technology community and ones who lead the charge for others to create/invent their own niche in said community.  The moderately technologically literate person engages in technology, but is not so involved with adding to the discourse or even gaining accolade or notoriety.  He/she is just happy being a part of the community.  The marginally technologically literate person is concerned with using technology as a means to an end.  They may only use technology in the classroom as a way to illustrate a point, to make phone call/send a text with a purpose, read an online article to gain knowledge, watch a video strictly for entertainment, or write a blog/assignment to fulfill some requirement.  These people need to exist in order for the highly technologically literate people to flourish.  In the technological sense, literacy becomes a choice.

People’s technology practices shape their literacy because as previously stated, it is a choice.  Society chooses just how technologically literate they want to be.  In many instances, older populations within society do not feel the need to learn any new technology because they either have chosen to not be a part of this new “doo-dads” or “thing-a-ma-bob” OR they have a fear of technology – Technophobia (Rosen 2001).

Selfe (1999) posits that technological literacy reveals “complex sets of cultural beliefs and values that influence, and are influenced by-collective, individual, and historical understandings of what it means to read, write, make meaning, and communicate via computers and within on-line environments.”  This speaks to what types of literacy is needed in a technological society today.  Some other types of skills include flexibility, openness, and willingness towards new forms of technology and literacy.