metaphorical digital dust

Keri’s article reminded me of when I had to figure out how to use Facebook many moons ago when I was in junior high. The shift from Myspace to Facebook was indescribably hard to the point that I made a Facebook and didn’t actually use it for years. Digital literacies are everywhere now. From .com sites to apps on our phones, if you aren’t proficient in them, you’re left behind in the metaphorical digital dust. When it came to my experience with Facebook, it took a friend sitting down and walking me through all the different components step by step for me to figure it out and I still got lost sometimes. I think sponsors are the same for all literacies, the formats are just different. Even though we continue to advance with digital everything, it’s still a daunting task to have to learn a new website or application. The idea of “am I doing it right?” when people you know and interact with in person can see your digital attempts is scary.