DIGI CITIZEN
The Social Insurance Institution of Finland (KELA) and European health care card
At the moment, I personally use KELA’s services relatively little. I study alongside working, so I don’t receive any monetary benefits from Kela. In terms of my studies, I pay the higher education student health care fee, but I do not use health care services through it, as my employer provides extensive health care coverage in addition to the statutory requirements. Currently, the main benefit I receive is the “Reimbursements for medicine costs” provided by the KELA card, but these are also minor and do not usually exceed the deductible at the moment.
Over the course of my life, however, I have used KELA’s services more extensively, both as a student and in connection with a long-term illness and its treatment. Thanks to KELA, specialized medical care in Finland is affordable for citizens, and I have never had to fear ending up in serious financial difficulty due to surgery and recovery from it. Previous experiences of unexpected hospitalizations have ensured that I always carry a European Health Insurance Card with me, as I travel widely and frequently within Europe.
OmaKanta
OmaKanta has become a very familiar service to me over the years, and I always log in using mobile authentication. Through OmaKanta, it is easy to review my diagnoses and medical history. During the COVID-19 period, I also obtained the required COVID vaccination certificate from there, which I needed in order to travel within Europe. I remember that in France, for example, it was not possible for a long time to enter restaurants without their own “TousAntiCovid” application, to which I was able to link my vaccination certificate from OmaKanta.
OmaKanta works well with public healthcare services, but at times it seems difficult to get information there about examinations carried out in private medical clinics, for example. Renewing prescriptions also feels easier directly through the private medical clinic’s own applications. Whether the issue lies in system rigidity, data protection, information flow (or perhaps somewhere else in the bureaucracy altogether), I cannot say, but I hope that professionals in the field will continue to develop these systems in a more consumer-oriented direction.
Pension
I logged into Keva’s website out of curiosity, even though I already knew in advance that I would not be able to obtain information about my pension there. Nevertheless, it was interesting to see what the site would tell me. I immediately received a notification stating: “According to our records, your pension matters are handled by Varma, where you were most recently insured. If you wish to take care of matters related to this pension, please log in to their online service.” I tried to proceed within the service, but at every step I was shown information indicating that I was in the wrong place and that I would not receive a pension through Keva. I therefore moved on to review my situation on Varma’s website, as throughout my entire pension‑accruing working life I have been employed by Public Limited Companies (PLC).
My earliest estimated retirement age is 67, the target retirement age is 69, and the maximum estimated retirement age is 70. The estimated amount of my pension is significantly influenced by how long I am able or willing to continue working. Overall, the estimate of my future pension served as a motivation to take better care of my health and made me seriously reflect on my future career choices. Hopefully, through education, I will be able to move into better‑paid positions in the future.
Book shopping in digital online shops/stores vs local brick-and-mortar shops
I decided to explore and compare book prices and the reliability of services between digital online stores and domestic brick-and-mortar shops. I chose physical books as the product category because I buy them both from online stores and local shops, and I assume that I can obtain the same equivalent product from many different places. For the comparison, I selected two books that I consider classics and that should be widely available in English in various editions, both in physical bookshops and in digital online stores.
I chose Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights for the comparison because a new film adaptation of the book has recently been released, which likely increases both demand and availability. As the second classic, I selected J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion, which, based on my experience, seems to be consistently available in most selections.
For brick-and-mortar bookshops, I chose Suomalainen Kirjakauppa and Akateeminen Kirjakauppa. For digital online stores, I selected Amazon Germany, (because it operates within the EU and I don’t want to take customs and taxes in consideration), and the Nordic online bookstore Adlibris.
”Wuthering Heights”:
At Suomalainen Kirjakauppa and Akateeminen Kirjakauppa, the prices of paperback editions were roughly the same, varying slightly between different editions at around €15. Hardcover editions were more often available as special-order items, and the price differences were greater when a particular special edition was involved. The prices of the same editions were approximately the same in both stores (ranging from €25 to €37).
On Amazon, the selection was considerably broader. Paperback editions ranged from €4.35 (and even cheaper with discounts) to versions costing over €100. The product descriptions were very detailed, making it easy to understand why some versions were significantly more expensive than others. For example, the versions priced over €100 were intended for students preparing for SAT exams and were not really worth considering for an average reader. The situation with hardcover editions was largely the same, although prices were slightly higher.
At Adlibris, the prices and selection were more similar to those of domestic brick-and-mortar bookstores. Prices for paperback editions ranged from €9.50 up to €50.90. In my opinion, the website did not clearly explain why the prices of different options varied so much. As an example, the same hardcover edition that cost €18.88 on Amazon and €27.90 at Akateeminen Kirjakauppa was priced at €18.70 at Adlibris.
”The Silmarillion”
For The Silmarillion, I decided to compare only the same edition of the book across all four stores, as the number of available versions is virtually endless and the pricing trend is the same. Amazon is clearly the cheapest option and offers the widest selection, brick-and-mortar bookstores have roughly similar prices, and Adlibris’ prices are often close to those of physical bookstores. However, Adlibris offers a broader range of prices, and it is possible to find more affordable options.
For the special unjacketed hardback edition of The Silmarillion, the price at Suomalainen Kirjakauppa was €27.95, at Akateeminen Kirjakauppa €25.90, at Amazon €18.19, and at Adlibris €29. All stores provided sufficiently comprehensive information about the book.
I trust both Amazon and Adlibris. Adlibris’ website is available in Finnish, which may make purchasing decisions easier for consumers. Personally, I tend to favor Amazon when buying books because of its lower prices and wider selection. Brick-and-mortar bookstores are always a reliable option and perhaps better for impulse purchases or situations where you need the product immediately (sometimes a book series is just so good that you need the next volume right away and cannot wait for delivery). Their selection is not as extensive, so if the book is not a classic, a new release, or a bestseller, online stores are generally the better option. Unfortunately, many books never make it to bookstores or libraries in Finland at all.
Telegram, a new acquaintance in my own field
I currently work in the ICT field, and choosing a service or application from my own field turned out to be surprisingly difficult, mainly due to the sheer number of options. What application or service wouldn’t be related to my own field? I ended up choosing the Telegram application because it was completely unfamiliar to me personally, even though I had heard a lot about it. And what could be more representative of the information and communications technology field than an application designed for communication between people?
The application was easy to find in the Play Store, although the logo was not particularly appealing. Getting started was easy and involved the familiar process of accepting permissions and terms (so no more effort than with any other application). Among the people I know personally, Telegram is clearly not very popular, as the app immediately showed me which of my contacts use it, and the list was not very long. That said, this feature itself was excellent.
Overall, Telegram seems like a very easy to use and convenient messaging application, if only it had more users in Finland. WhatsApp still comes out on top (mainly because of its user base), but Telegram is certainly a good alternative if WhatsApp ends up making less appealing decisions regarding the app in the future.
Digitalization, risk and opportunity
Digitalization makes life easier and faster. There is no longer a need to physically queue to receive services. I personally handle almost all of my matters on my mobile phone using different applications. However, this also creates risks, because if information security is not properly taken care of, critical personal data can be easily leaked, for example to scammers. This can result in both financial losses and the loss of personal data protection and privacy.
Digitalization also creates inequality among citizens. Not everyone is able to use digital services. This may involve elderly people who are no longer able to learn and adopt new technologies in the same way, or individuals who, for one reason or another, are unable to obtain electronic identification services or access online banking. No one should be excluded from society simply because technology makes things easier for the majority of citizens. Accessible services must still be available to everyone.
According to the Digital Competence Test, my level of competence is relatively high across all areas of digital services. The areas where there is room for improvement are the use of social media and automation, and I was already aware of these shortcomings beforehand.
What did I learn?
While completing the assignments and writing the blog, I learned the fact that, as a citizen, I personally have a good competence in digital services, something that is not true for everyone. Managing one’s own affairs is easier when you know how to use digital services and have the confidence to do so. It also reminded me that even within my own close circle there are many people who genuinely need help using digital services. Thoughts about frightening future scenarios came to mind. Development is already progressing at an astonishing speed. What happens if I myself fall behind and start needing help? For now, I still consider myself a digi citizen.
I also learned that I enjoy writing and spending time on topics that genuinely interest me. I could therefore have written much more about buying books than I did now (more than enough). I don’t spend my time only reading and buying books; clearly, I also enjoy wandering off into the topic, and I didn’t even get to the world of e-books and audiobooks yet, which would easily provide even more to write about.
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