ME – A DIGI CITIZEN
I have seen the development of digitalization for four decades already. It’s amazing how quickly things have happened. I’ve grown in a world where things have developed at an accelerating pace and sometimes it has been hard to keep up with it, I admit. Non the less, I’ve learned to enjoy the benefits that many digital tools and services have to offer today. I’m ready to learn more and take on new things because I understand that that’s what the world today demands not to be left behind. Somehow I feel that digitalization pushes us people to develop ourselves too.
THE SERIOUS ONES – KELA, OMAKANTA & ELO
There are two main aspects in digital tools and services in my opinion: fun and benefit. As a benefit you can log in safely with bank credentials to different official sites and the run the important errands from the couch. I find that very convenient. For example on the KELA’s (the Social Insurance Institute of Finland) website you can find all the information about the benefits you are entitled to concerning your life situation. At the moment, for example, my family receives a child benefit from my 10 year old son and during the winter, when I got sick with COVID-19, my employer got Infectious decease allowance to cover the losses of income for my sick leave days. I have also payed the Student health care fee via KELA’s website. As a part of this assignment I ordered the European health insurance card too, which I had never heard before. Glad to learn something new!
Omakanta is a site that I have visited regularly to check out my own health information. I have also written my care will and saved my organ donation will there. I use the site usually on my phone, it’s so handy to log in with a mobile certificate. I hadn’t checked out my pension before, but now I did that too via Elo’s website. I found out that my lowest retirement age is almost 67 years. The pension was not so great, unfortunately, so I should work until the age of 69 to get 250e more per month. I’m not sure if that satisfies me either. I might have to consider doing lottery every now and then so I could retire a little bit earlier than required!
In addition to these official sites I use different kind of platforms also at work. Nepton is a program we use for monitoring of working hours. I log in and out of work via Nepton and record everything I’ve done during the day to this platform. Järkkäri is our customer information system. It was introduced a few years ago and was taken to use in all offices of Cancer Organization. This platform requires a strong, double identification via password and Authenticator-app in order to use it. Because of that I assume it’s relatively reliable and safe place to record peoples personal data.
LET’S SPEND SOME MONEY – ONLINE SHOPPING
As fun I sometimes do some online shopping. Again, it’s made very easy. I use sites like Zalando, Stadium, different jewelry stores sites etc. I browse quite widely to find the right item for the occasion and for a good price. I’ve also booked trips via websites. I find it easy to compare prices and products between different sites. I only use the ones that provide all the sufficient information and offer a safe way to pay the purchases. I have never had any problems with safety issues acting this way. The advantages of online shopping are definitely the easiness, wide supply and competitive prices. You don’t always succeed perfectly in this field either: I’ve received for example dresses that didn’t match the description. But I think this just teaches us to consider more carefully where to do our business.
AREN’T WE ALL EQUAL? THE DIGITAL GAB
What worries me in this digital world is the fact that we really are not all equal. I, at the age of 44, can manage new equipment, load and use different apps, understand something about safety issues and am able to find various information online. But what about he or she who is, let’s say, 74 years old? Or someone who suffers from a disability? To them the world can be a lot different place at the moment. I claim that learning and managing new skills is not as easy as it is to young and perfectly healthy people. This fact might lead to a situation where certain groups of people are in danger of falling out of society in some parts. They are not able to benefit from all the goods that digitalization has to offer the same way than the others.Think about for example the situation where an old man, who has always taken care of his bank affairs himself, now faces the fact that office hours exists no more and he should manage his business online. His sight is pore, he doesn’t know how to load the right app to his new phone (that his son had bought him as a Christmas present) and the only one who could help him (the son) lives 400 kilometers away. Simple everyday task turns into a battle. This kind of things affect to peoples self esteem and self-determination. That’s why it is very important to find effective means to keep them involved too.
THE REAL ME – DIGITAL COMPETENCE TEST
As you can see from the picture above, I do not manage everything myself either. I don’t understand how all the connections and digital solutions are built. Security is something that I should probably learn more about too. But I assume that I’m a pretty normal consumer when it comes to digital world. I know enough to function in it and have learned to avoid the most common mistakes. What else do we really need?
SELF-REFLECTION
I found this assignment quite easy because of the topic was so familiar to me. It’s nice to write about something that you already know something about! But on the other hand there was a couple of things I haven’t heard before: the digital competence test and the European health insurance card. It was interesting to see your capabilities in digital competence, I hadn’t thought of this so widely before.
THE BLOG’S I COMMENTED
Like your comment on digital competency. How you considered yourself to be a average user with these results. Average consumer. My problem being as I finish these studies I should be above the average consumer and guide them in their journey in digital health. Thought this chapter would teach us more skills not just make me aware of my insufficiency. Great writing, easy to read and it flows nicely.
https://blogi.savonia.fi/arjasnest/
I agree with you that the advantages of online shopping are ease, wide choice and competitive prices. However, poor product descriptions often lead to disappointment and product returns. This frustrates me. Somehow I find it easier to buy clothes, especially in a bricks-and-mortar store, when you can try on the product and make a decision on the spot.
Hi Marjo,
It was great to read about your experiences on the topic of digi citizen. As you say it is really amazing how fast the development among digitalization has happened and it is very interesting to see how the future will look like one day. And it is true like you say that it is not easy for all of the people to keep up with the development. Some people are very interested in all the digital issues and is therefore maybe easier to them to learn new things related to it. I also like the way you divide the digital tools and services to fun and benefit ones and make me think different way of dividing them too. Nepton and Järkkäri were new to me – it was interesting to read and learn about them. I also share the opinion with you that there really is a digital gap and we are not equal – unfortunately. There are people who don’t have the ability or skills to use the digital services but still the development moves more and more of the services to the internet. This is not a very good thing, let’s see how this will be solved in the future.
Here is the URL to my blog: https://blogi.savonia.fi/melearning/digi-society/
You mention equality in digital world. Technology advances so fast that some people can not keep up with it. At this point, those falling off the wagon are the elderly, handicapped, immigrants and others without the necessary skills to use digital services. Even though I use many services digitally, I still wish the society took a small step back and retained some services live so that people can choose their service.
You wrote about older people who cannot use digital services or a computer. I’ve been thinking about this too. I think the older generation needs the support of society to keep up with digitalization. In my former job, I met a lot of elderly people who knew how to use a computer very well, and this often surprised me in a positive way.
Hi, it was nice to read your article. You write clearly and comprehensibly. We are roughly the same age and I have pretty much the same thoughts with you about digital and how much it needs to be managed. The basics are enough, but my own skills run out if you have to go deeper, like programming. I have the same concern about the digital society as you. People with disabilities or the elderly need alternatives to digital services.
Hi Marjo!
About the digital gap – it is true that many old people are in the risk of drop out of society. Like the old man as you described. I totally agree about the importance of effective means to keep old and disabled people involved in society too. https://blogi.savonia.fi/lauraantikainen/
It’s great to read your experiences and thoughts about a digital citizen. It is inspiring to see how you have adapted to the rapidly changing digital landscape over the years and continue to adopt new technology. It is also good to hear your perspective on online stores, including benefits and potential pitfalls. I agree that concern about digital inequality is essential and proper -time. We mustn’t leave older adults or disabled people with difficulty learning new skills or using technology. It’s great to hear that you are aware of this topic, and you should find effective ways to include everyone in the digital world. We all have areas where we can improve, but we must recognize what we do well and continue learning. Thank you for sharing your experiences and insight!
Hi Marjo! There are many groups that are not so familiar with digitalisation. How we insure that all people get the equal services? How all people get the services at the right time if they don’t use the internet? We have a lot to do with these questions.
Hi Marjo,
It was nice to read your blog. I am also thinking about my retirement age and wish I could retire earlier. The health care industry is stressful, and I hope that I will retire reasonably well. I agree with you that the development of digitalization increases the threat of inequality. What if society does not provide support, tools, and opportunities to use services. How can digital exclusion be prevented? This is enough to think about in the future.