DIGI CITIZEN

The Social insurance Institution of Finland (KELA) and OmaKanta

I have three small children, so I have used Kela’s services a lot when applying for benefits for families with children. Logging into Kela is familiar using electronic online banking credentials, and I feel that I can easily find my own decisions and applications there. I have also used Kela’s message section a lot when asking for information from Kela employees. I have used Kela’s services a lot in my work when supporting my clients when applying for Kela benefits. I am also familiar with the OmaKanta service and have visited it to view a lot of my own or my children’s health information. Also, for example, during the Covid-19 pandemic, I applied for a vaccination certificate through the OmaKanta service when I needed it for a restaurant or other events. Most of all I’ve gone to see the laboratory results.

Keva

My pension information was not found in Keva’s service, because my pension information can be found in Varma’s pension services. From there, I found out that there is a difference of 100 euros in the accumulated pension between my lowest and highest retirement age.

Digital shopping

I compared the prices of hotels in Helsinki on Trivago. The prices are quite similar to the hotels’ own websites. The prices differ by about 10-20 euros/night. But, for example, big hotel chains have a lot of campaigns, where you can use different codes to get big discounts from their own websites, and I usually book hotel trips myself using these codes.

Today, with the exception of grocery shopping, I do most of my shopping in online stores. I live in the countryside and I have calculated that the price of gas to the nearest shopping centers is almost as much as the postage costs for online purchases. Dealing with small children in online stores is also much easier and more flexible than in local stores.   However, I rarely use foreign online stores where the products are delivered from abroad.

Digital application from my own field

I work in the social and health sector and I chose OmaAava as the application for my field, because the occupational health care at my workplace is in Aava and I use OmaAava to book doctor’s appointments and view my information. I feel that OmaAava is a clear application and it´s easy to find all the necessary information there. There is no need to search for information under different headings, most of it can be found right away on the main page. The application has always worked well and it is easy to log in with your own electronic bank credentials.

Digital gap

In the worst case, digitization can cause inequality between people, because some people do not know how or do not want to use digital services. For example, my own grandfather doesn’t even know how to use a mobile phone, let alone the internet. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that he can’t find out real-time news right away or be able to follow the rain radar from the weather app. The map services or the opening hours of the places are also not immediately available to him. These people are at risk of being excluded from many reforms, and It´s can be very difficult for them, for example,to book appointments for health and social services. Teaching digital skills to all groups of people is really important, because in my own work, for example, I have noticed that the digital skills of immigrants are sometimes really weak. This further increases the challenges of integrating immigrants.

Digital competence test

Test was easy and relatively quick to do.  My total score was fout (intermediate) and the description of the score was: ”Users on level 4 (intermediate) are able to perform well-defined tasks independently. They can also solve non-routine problems on their own.

Self evaluation

While getting to know the topic and reading other people’s texts, I noticed that I use a lot of different applications and my life would be really difficult without them. In my everyday life, I don’t even understand how much is dependent on, for example, electronic appointment booking systems or even the reservation system for children’s daycare. While reading, I began to think about even more groups of people who, for one reason or another, are unable to use electronic services. Many services have been made very difficult and laborious for them, which poses a great risk of inequality.

I commented:

Tiina´s site: DIGI CITIZEN | Tiina’s site (savonia.fi)

“Thank you for your text! It’s great to read that you prefer local stores, even if their prices are higher than in online stores. It sounds like you have a sensible attitude to online shopping anyway and think about their reliability.

I agree that digital skills are already basic skills in working life and the change has happened very quickly. Of course, I notice that there are big differences in employees’ digital skills depending on the industry. Digitization is happening all the time and in working life you have to constantly learn new skills related to electronic systems and, for example, information security.”

Adventure in the Digital World: Digi citizen – Adventure in the Digital World (wordpress.com)

“Thank you for your text! Interesting to read that you saved money when you bought a hair dryer at a brick-and-mortar store. Personally, I would like to prefer brick-and-mortar stores, but unfortunately I use online stores because of the ease. I’ve noticed the same thing, that through the hotels’ own websites, you can often get cheaper trips with the help of different campaigns, and it’s often easier to solve various problems through that.

A good point is that older people don’t know which apps and services to trust, which is why they may not shop online much. This makes it very difficult, for example, to book trips.”

Kati´s site: Kati’s site – My blog (savonia.fi)

“Hi Kati, thank you for your writing. Good point that the Kela card is also a Kela service. I didn’t even think about it, because in my own life I have recently used a lot of other Kela services when I was at home with small children.

I’ve noticed the same thing myself, that when comparing prices on comparison sites, you have to be very careful what the price includes. I myself once stayed in a hotel so I hadn’t noticed that breakfast was missing from the price. This then annoyed me on the spot as I had to pay for it separately.

In my work, I also guide clients to use various electronic services, and I have noticed that I need to have strong knowledge and experience of different services in order to be able to advise clients with an immigrant background, for example, in their use.”