Namrata Sharma

We are now in the digital age where everyone has information at the tip of their fingers. The first thing most people do in the morning is to turn on their mobiles to check the date, time and the daily news. The living room with the TV becomes a place for exercising or yoga and meditations with gurus who are regular on different TV channels and inform us how to exercise, do yoga, and meditation. During the day people need food at various stages, so they can click on their mobiles, tablets or laptops and learn how to make simple dal bhat or exquisite cuisines from all over the world.

Favourite sources
This makes me reflect upon the days when I grew up. I remember how Radio Nepal, BBC Nepali and BBC World radio became my favourite source of information from middle school onwards. The Kathmandu Valley during the 70s and 80s did not have the variety of newspapers it has now. It did not have TVs and definitely no internet. I used to crave to read books outside my school curriculum. There was also no culture of buying story books for children as the parents do today. We used to borrow, read and share the limited resources we could lay hands on. We were not taken to exquisite resorts for lunch, dinner or outings! There was a practice of visiting libraries. One of my favourite pastimes was to visit my school library, the American Library, the British Council and the Indian Library as all of them had an excellent collection of books, newspapers and magazines that we could either read in the library itself or borrow to read at home. There was also a culture of going out for a movie or two in the cinema hall during the summer and winter vacations apart from a few movies that were shown in the school.
I remember spending hours reading books and comics and being scolded that they might spoil me. I wonder what my guardians would say to the kids who have information at their fingertips now and could easily get “spoiled” accessing information far beyond their age groups.
For me, information literacy is the skill of getting information. It could be by means of asking zillions of questions to my parents or teachers in school and college, or by exploring the net now to get information for my work. Getting books to read, sharing my experiences with my cousins and friends, and in turn listening to their thoughts about the different books they had read and discussing various issues during my growing up days were memorable experiences. This was information literacy then.
Passing through the phases of childhood, adolescence and young adulthood is a challenge for all individuals. The information we seek during these phases of life and the sources from where we get information and how we engage and entertain ourselves could very well shape our minds and behaviours. This remains the same for kids growing up before the digital age and for those growing in this digital age.
However, one main difference now is that kids and adults dwell more on their fingertips and gadgets for information rather than the interaction with human bodies which give them life skills beyond machines and internet. The other very important difference of today is how one deals with fake news. With the advent of the digital age, the major challenge now is to identify what is factual and what is fake information.
Today’s youth may have access to tools and techniques in this digital landscape. However, all the information they encounter may not be accurate and of high quality. Therefore, it is very important to be information literate these days.
Information literacy is the ability to identify, find, evaluate, and use information effectively. From effective searching for evaluation techniques, it is very important to learn how to make sure that the quality, credibility, and validity of websites are very important. It is equally important to give credit to the source from where the information is accessed. Therefore, nowadays, the word “literacy” has multiple implications. Just learning to read and write is not enough; we need to be information literate to thrive in the digital space.
One very simple but important skill is to check who the writer is. All authentic and original writers have contacts that can be traced. Social site information like Twitter handles and Facebook accounts are the sources from where their physical contact details can be traced. Many websites where fake news is published can be traced by clicking on the sites to see if you can find out who published it and if it has details of the writers and publishers. Many a times once you click on such sites, you might get a message that the site is under construction or is not available. This could be an indication that the news could be fake. To be information literate, a proper education on how to browse to get the correct information and how to avoid fake news is required.

Mandatory skill
There are instances where children and young adults have been lured by fake advertisements which entice them to make hazardous decisions. Therefore, it is now very important to make sure information literacy becomes a mandatory skill that needs to be part of learning for all children and adults on how to avoid fake news.
Gone were the days when cousins, friends and adults were always around to exchange information and give solace. Skills such as conducting strategic online searches, judging the legitimacy of online sources, fishing out misinformation, and recognising fake advertising, can help children of today to be successful as lifelong learners.

(Namrata Sharma is a senior journalist and women rights advocate and can be reached at namrata1964@yahoo.com Twitter handle: NamrataSharmaP)