Kela, OmaKanta, Keva
Kela offers different types of servives throughout your life. I have used many of these services. When I was 16, I lived on my own and studied but I did not receive student financial aid but I did receive housing allowance. Once I became a mother, I got aid meant for families and children. During my first pregnancy I got maternity package and during the second pregnancy I chose money. The money Kela gave me enabled me to stay home until the children were almost three years old. Kela has also given money for both children until they reached the age of 17.
Currently Kela pays for the medicine I use daily. When I am sick, Kela pays for the money loss. I use public healthcare services except dental care, which Kela pays for a small amount. It depends on the procedure. Unfortunately, Kela usually does not pay for esthetic dental care. When the compulsory education age rose, Kela started to pay for travelling to school. Now that I enrolled to tertiary education, I had to pay Kela for YTHS. This is rather unnecessary payment since I have healthcare services from work.
Our family has had European healthcare cards for years now. The card was easy to get from online and once it expires, a new one is sent to home.
OmaKanta can be accessed with netbank id. I use OmaKanta regularly. Usually I check my health information and I renew my recipes through it. As a parent, you can check your children’s information until they are 15. My own children gave me permission to check their information even after they were 15. In Finland, 15 year old people have the right to decide about their own health information. It was not like this when I was young.
According to Keva, I will retire in year 2047. I will be 67 and 10 months year old. If I retire immediately, the pension will be half of my current salary. If I continue until I am 69, it will raise my pension 16%. If I continue until I am 70, it will raise 25%. I would retire immediately because the tax is 20%. The difference between the pension at the age of 67 and 70 is so small that it would be unnecessary to stay in work force until 70.
Source: kela.fi, keva.fi
Digital stores
I have planned to travel to Prague next summer and I chose two different services where I compared the prices for hotel + flight for 4 nights. I compared booking.com and travellink.fi. I chose four star hotel in the center of Prague. Travellink-price was 440 euros and booking.com 500 euros. Once I checked the contents of services, I found out that booking.com had direct flights and travellink had 9 hours flight but with extra fee the flights were 4 hours. Travellink didn’t offer a flight as short as booking.com. The extra fee would have caused the price to go really up.
This is a good example to show that consumers should always check what the price includes. Usually the packages are sold really bare and once you add things, the price rises slowly up.
Source: travellink.fi, booking.com
Teams
I chose Teams because I use it daily at work. I use it for communication and meetings. It is also the platform we use to share information, and in future it might replace fast messaging. During the pandemic Teams became familiar to both teachers and students. Nowadays it is used in hybrid learning and teaching. I like that Teams is in Finnish and it is easy to use. If you think back to the beginning of pandemic, features of Teams have advanced a lot and it seems it is being developed constantly. There might be features that our team has not used yet but perhaps in future these features are added to our repertoire.
Digitalisation and digital gap
Digitalisation has reached the level of universality, so the general assumption is that all people can use different types services. More and more services are becoming digital which leads to some people falling off the wagon. Virtual services are good because it doesn’t matter where you are or at what time you want to use the service. Services that are not digital require more time and more resources to use. Digital services are also easier to compare. People who don’t use the virtual services might end up paying more than those who use digital services, for example HSL. Virtual services are also a challenge for tourists.
Digital competence test
To find out my digital competence I answered questions that describe competence. It took me 12 minutes. I got most points from health, data storage and social awareness. In health section I got 7/8. In this section I found out I can take care of my physical and mental well-being while surrounded by technology. I know how to take care of ergonomics while at work. I also know the most common keyboard shortcuts that make the working easier.
I got 6/8 from social awareness. I can combine the tone of behaviour, the context of language and technology and social relations. I am good creating and managing a text while thinking of recipient.
Storage was 5/8. I know how to store data in correct format and I know the benefits and disadvantages of storing data in a cloud, hard drive and portable devices. I know how to store the information I find so that I can find it again.
Self evaluation
Assignments proved how much information is available. It is important to follow different types of channels so that you learn advantages and disadvantages of digital services. For example, I am an experienced online shopper, but shopping online requires to see what the price includes. I was surprised at the cheap prices of travelling packages but once I checked what the price included, I was disappointed. In schools we try to use different channels to provide information for students about different types of aid, both financial and immaterial aid. The results of the digital competence test did not surprise me because I am used to using digital services in both studying and and at work.
Thank you for highlighting the benefits and challenges of digital services. It is true that digitalisation has made many services more convenient and accessible, especially for those who live in remote areas or have mobility issues. We should also acknowledge that not everyone has the same level of access or ability to use digital services, and this can lead to a digital divide where some people are left behind. It’s important to ensure that everyone has access to the services they need, whether they are digital or not, and that they are not penalized for not using digital services
Hi Johanna!
Thank you for your thoughts about Digi Citizen! I noticed too that the difference in pension between full retirement age and lowest possible retirement age might not be so big. However, I would benefit working longer and let’s see how retirement ages change before we can retire. I wish I had time to travel also. Prague is a beautiful city and I hope you enjoy travelling there too! When booking a holiday, especially to abroad, you need to check travel details carefully as you said. The prices and services can vary a lot.
I use Teams also at work daily and I feel that I could learn even more about its features. It would good to read instruction manual sometimes to get best benefits of the programme into use. You had a good highlight that virtual services can be a challenge for tourists. I agree on that because when travelling you may not have any interest to download different apps to your phone for one week and you might not even know which app could give you the best benefits.
I found your post on digital services and digital competence to be really informative and helpful. It’s great to see how many different services are available to us, from Kela (public) to digital stores (private), and how they can make our lives easier and more convenient. Your personal experiences with Kela and digital stores were especially interesting to read about, and I appreciate your advice on how to compare prices and check what is included in packages.
I also found your discussion on digital competence and the importance of staying up-to-date with technology to be very relevant. It’s true that digital services are becoming increasingly common, and having the skills to use them effectively can be a major advantage. Overall, I think your post provides a valuable perspective on the benefits and challenges of digital services.
Hello,
While doing this task myself, I have noticed the same as you, that there really is a lot of information available. It is also true that the more services and programs you use, the better and more aware you become.
I myself have used a variety of different online stores and also bought several trips abroad online. Fortunately, the Internet has made it easier to compare prices, price content, and experiences/reviews. Bad experiences and unreliability spread quickly on the internet. However, what I think is a more negative aspect of shopping online is that the company itself and its values are often forgotten. When buying from a physical store, I may pay more attention to the company itself – such its domesticity, operating models, and values. This should also be more important when shopping online.
In the case of digital stores, you made a good point on your blog that the cheapest price does not always come down to the cheapest in the end, but may rise due to various improvements or additional services. Consumers should always be attentive to the content of the service when comparing the prices of different online stores. It’s nice to be able to travel! Hopefully, you found a good and affordable air travel and hotel option.