How to bridge the digital literacy gap
26th September 2025
What is the best way to ensure that everyone knows how to use the technology in their lives?
In the last article we explained what the digital literacy gap is: it refers to when people struggle to use modern tech, because new innovations passed them by, and as a result certain services or parts of life seem unusable for them.
Believe it or not, I am an example of this, despite having grown up with smartphones and an internet enabled PC (feel free to let me know on our socials how old you think I am!). I used to barely use social media – I had a Facebook account from when I was young, and I used Messenger and Whatsapp to keep up with people, but the rest of the new apps had passed me by.
When I started working though, social media became essential, and I found myself really struggling at first. Suddenly, all these platforms I had ignored were ones I needed to understand – so how did I bridge my digital literacy gap?
The answer is simple, and it applies to everyone, no matter when the gap in their digital literacy is: I learnt. It didn’t happen overnight, I made a few errors because I wasn’t sure what I was doing, but I eventually learnt how to use these platforms.
Somethings I learnt by doing, by experimenting with the apps and testing how they worked. Others, I learnt by searching online, finding that other people had the same questions and simple answers. I also asked those around me – my younger brother was far more social media savvy than myself, and was able to talk me through anything I didn’t understand.
That is the key to solving this problem – education! Those of us who need to bridge our digital literacy need to be better at asking for help, using the resources available to get up to speed on how tech works.
Those who already know need to reach out to those who are struggling and offer to help them. I mean, why do you think I write all these articles? Part of it is to get your attention online, but most of it is because I understand how overwhelming it can be learning IT, and I want to help people to learn and improve.
If you’re reading this and you struggle with technology, it is never too late to learn, and the task isn’t insurmountable. Talk to family, friends, teachers, your local community, or find resources online to help you become more digitally literate. It will make you life easier, more efficient, and, you might find, more enjoyable!
Don’t know where to start? Reach out to us at Interfuture Systems, we have all the info you need to get you started on your IT education journey!
YouTube: https://youtu.be/gLGImpmNLAo