Learning in a digital environment is potentially a great leveler, enabling people from all backgrounds to access learning and valuable knowledge; technically, all you need to learn online is an internet connection and curiosity about a particular subject or topic area.
'Online learning’ now covers an incredibly broad spectrum of activities, from taking a wholly online course to accessing information online from a traditional classroom or library setting.
Addressing Poverty Through Digital And Financial Literacy:
The Great Recession delivered a body blow to our country’s financial equilibrium, and only after years of painfully slow recovery have housing prices begun to stabilize and the unemployment rate steadily fallen. But while the economic crisis has abated, it remains a devastating morass for many, especially young adults, ethnic and racial minorities, and lower income families.
Many experts concur that two of the challenges keeping people underserved, underbanked and underemployed are a lack of digital skills and financial literacy. 50% percent of Indians live paycheck to paycheck and 50% have no savings at all; nearly half of all Millennial have too much debt, and many borrow from predatory lenders.
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| Financial digital literacy |
Understanding how to make financially responsible decisions and managing one’s credit and debt are skills that are essential to our daily lives, without which people are vulnerable to the kinds of financial predators and poor decisions that helped cause the housing crisis. Financial literacy is critical to avoiding high levels of debt, excess fees for financial products, accessing credit and saving for retirement.
Meanwhile, digital literacy is an essential component of being able to communicate with the modern world and access professional opportunities. Together, financial and digital literacy are vital tools to access financial and social services and achieve economic mobility.
