Digital literacy is the ability to effectively and critically navigate, evaluate and create information using a range of digital technologies. It requires one "to recognize and use that power, to manipulate and transform digital media, to distribute pervasively, and to easily adapt them to new forms". Digital literacy does not replace traditional forms of literacy, it builds upon the foundation of traditional forms of literacy. Digital literacy is the marrying of the two terms digital and literacy, however, it is much more than a combination of the two terms. Digital information is a symbolic representation of data, and literacy refers to the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently, and think critically about the written word.
Research around digital literacy is concerned with wider aspects associated with learning how to effectively find, use, summarize, evaluate, create, and communicate information while using digital technologies; not just being literate at using a computer.
Digital literacy encompasses all digital devices, such as computer hardware, software, the Internet, and cell phones. A person using these skills to interact with society may be called a digital citizen.
Read more about Digital Literacy: Related Terms, Digital Literacy and 21st Century Skills, Use in Education, Use in Society, The Digital Divide, Global Impact, Use in The Workforce