Digital Illiteracy.: Critically ignored Indian crisis
Make in India, Digital India, Financial Inclusion etc. are the hot words of Indian government. Everything is getting digitalized these days. More and more number of startups are creating digital ecosystems. An example is UPI which is used by millions.
Every day a huge number of people are introduced to Digital World. These people consists of educated as well as uneducated masses.
A TV has a manual, Life has a manual in terms of scriptures, there are road and traffic rules. However, what about digital things? There are no specific guidelines pertaining to usage. Especially how to use it securely.
I discussed in my last blog regarding UPI. People use UPI but don’t understand that they don’t need a PIN/Password to RECEIVE the money! It is very easy to use the so called Ápps. However, using it appropriately and securely is the critical thing.
What is going wrong currently in India?
- Financial frauds
More and more number of people are falling prey of financial frauds. Fraudsters sitting mostly in north-Indian regions have known technique of calling and fooling people to get money. This is a result of sheet illetracy that debit card detail is a confidential information.
People don’t understand the techniques of hacking so that are falling prey of it.
2. Data Theft
For Indians, privacy is of no worry. They install any of the app recommended by anyone without any verification and data is stolen in masses.
Location history, browsing history, web activity history of massess is always ON. The importance of this not understood by people. On opening these history, they are drowned in sheer embarrassment.
Apps have access to all user activities including contacts, location, preferences, content usage etc. Profiling can cause severe impact on the Indian republic.
3. Sense of Usage
Just check the WhatsApp group of senior citizens. Filled with all junk stuff. They don’t read and just forward! In forwarding they feel they have achieved a significant tasks.
Love birds often share their intimate pics online causing leakages due to rift between them in future. Cases of suicide has been seen due to this.
4. Mis-Information.
Contents coming on phone is taken for granted as legit and factual by illiterates and in some cases literate people. There is a mass forwarding of content which is totally baseless and rumored.
This has caused mob violence, deaths and stressed situations in the past. IT cells of political parties use this information to spread hatred and false information.
5. Life !
When you go to an utmost beautiful places, you forget to see it. Just click PICs continuously and share it every where. A problem seen more in educated digital illiterates. However same is seen replicating now in Bharat.
Senior citizens/Childrens addicted towards games and WhatsApp forwards don’t pay attention to real world relations. They make digital world on priority. A friend sitting on WhatsApp is given priority than a friend sitting in front of him.
What needs to be done?
Start from the education system. A subject called Digital Education needs to be introduced for all students.
