Digital Age.Top 7 Skills You Will Need in A Digital Age

It’s another day, with nothing to do, you’re on your 17th TikTok and it’s not even noon yet. Then suddenly you come across an ad for TEFEM’S DigiCohort Africa and you start to think, “Hey, why don’t I learn digital skill?”

Great idea!

The world is in the digital age now, where information is processed twice as fast and is communicated or shared in no time..  With almost every task becoming automated, it is hard to ignore the growing trend of being onboard the digital age train. 

Therefore in order to have a place in this progressive digital era, you need to groom yourself in certain vital skills like communication, creativity and effective problem solving skills. 

Take the digital age to be this jungle filled with many vines entwined with one another, and these digital skills are your blades which you use to cut through those vines!

So what are these skills? Let’s take a look shall we?

Alsl read: OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN IN TECH

Top Skills You Will Need in the Digital Age

Imagine the scenario, you go to a snack bar and order a cheeseburger with extra cheese. After what feels like an eternity, a waiter comes to you and serves you a plain burger with no cheese. Sucks right? 

If your reaction is anything from angry to frustration, then phew! Good, you’re not an alien! It may sound like your classic order mixup, but it runs deeper than that. 

The ability to communicate effectively goes beyond just talking and texting the other person. It also involves listening and asking questions to further understand the other person. 

Much like with getting the right order at a restaurant, good communication competency is paramount in the digital age also. Today, there are individuals all over the world, with different cultural and domestic backgrounds, who communicate and express themselves differently, so effective communication skills are vital for one to learn in order to foster understanding and a healthy work ethic.

Critical Thinking

I know what you’re thinking and the answer is no, you don’t need to be a scientist or like mathematics to learn this skill. 

Critical thinking is an essential tool for anyone to pick up and it begins with two things, observation/identification and asking questions. 

So what is critical thinking then? Well it’s no rocket science. 

Critical thinking is the ability to think analytically about a problem or issue. This sort of thinking is best done objectively, that means, without any personal feelings, opinions or biases. It involves thinking with facts, not myths. This skill is highly sought-after in individuals in the digital age because it cortails how to think about ordeals to avoid manipulation. It comes very much in handy when dealing with issues that may arise during processing information. 

So if you’re a person who easily jumps to conclusions without giving the situation a second thought, or a person who still believes that when the rain and sun collide, a lion is giving birth? Then you probably need to brush up on this skill to excel in this digital age.

Critical thinking is about analysing an issue to figure out the problem, so what happens after the problem is discovered? 

Problem Solving

After analysing and you’ve figured out the problem, the next obvious step would be to solve the problem. This ability is known as problem solving and it is another vital skill to have in your pockets in the digital age.  

The one problem people have with problem solving is that they usually get scared that they would make the problem worse. This was my initial thought whenever my system refuses to boot from my harddrive, right before I start to perform some troubleshooting tactics on it.

The first step to solving an issue is to make a list of possible solutions and the second step is to try them out. The third step would be to research or ask for help. Google is an excellent tool for research and solving problems, you can google anything and have results back to you in seconds! 

Problem solving skills are vital in the digital age as it is important to have a good approach to challenges and problems, which you will no doubt face in the digital age.

Creativity

I like to peer this up with curiosity and innovation because if you really think about it, curiosity sparks creativity and creativity fuels innovation. You probably think only artists and writers are creative, right? Wrong! Well you’re not totally wrong, they are creative, but creativity is not inclusive to those who paint or write. 

Creativity is simply the capacity to solve a problem in a different way, to come up with an even more interesting take or view of an issue or topic. If you’re creative,  that means you see things from a unique perspective.

In this digital age, it is not all about logic and numbers, you have to develop a creative mind. In fact every invention known to mankind was as a result of a curious mind and a creative approach. So don’t be afraid to shake things up, it might just be what that problem needed. 

Emotional Intelligence

Is this about my ex?

No. This intelligence is very much as important in the digital age as it is in everyday relationships. A common misconception about Emotional Intelligence is that it is the ability to be emotionally aloof. This is entirely not the case.  You don’t to have to be a robot to be emotionally intelligent. 

Emotional Intelligence is actually the ability to recognize one’s own emotions and how it affects the people around them and themselves. 

You may be thinking, “What does this have to do with the digital age and digital skills?”. The answer is simply, a lot. 

The ability to be aware of and control your emotion, makes you aware of your impact or effects on others in return. It helps you understand yourself and the people around you, which makes for good social collaboration and effective communication. 

No one would want to work with a person who can not get their act together. 

Technology Savvy

This one is pretty obvious. If you want to plant seeds, you have to know how to use a hoe to make ridges and how to use a shovel to make beds.  If you want to excel in the digital age, it is very crucial you know how to use technology! There is simply no other way.

Being familiar with basic and common technological devices such as digital smartphones and personal computers like laptops and tablets —in some cases, desktops, already puts you on the digital age radar. 

The problem with being technology savvy is the fear and stigma that comes from the successes of  various aspects of the digital age.  

Transphobia is the term used to describe an extreme fear of technology taking over everyday life. Though this term labels an extreme level of this phobia, subtle forms of this phobia exist among us for various reasons.  A major reason being ignorance. 

Which is why technology awareness is important to everyone, to reduce the cause of this irrational phobia. 

The digital age is here to stay and it would only help to be aware of that fact and take your time to learn how to use the technology you possess. 

Cultural Intelligence

In this digital age, the world has been transformed into a global village, filled with people of different historical backgrounds, cultures and variations, languages and ethics. The need to be aware of the existence of these cultural variations, independent of your own culture and expectancy is what constitutes cultural intelligence. 

The digital age is becoming more and more conscious of the negative impact on culture through racism and cultural defamations, which is why it is important to learn to respect and be aware of the various cultures outside of your own. 

It is important to respect the existence of other cultures, and put it into consideration during collaborations or developmental processes. This skill fosters effective communication competency. It also contributes to long term partnerships and collaborations, which are very fundamental for success in the digital age. 

So if you’ve been sticking to racial, cultural or ethic stereotypes, slurs,  you might want to reconsider.

CONCLUSION

You NEED these skills. 

Each of them are vital enough to help you find your footing as we progress further into the digital age. So now that you’ve reached the end of this post, what now?

I’ll tell you what, you gotta grab your hoe and start digging! Look up how to acquire these skills and learn them. 

Practice them every chance you get! 

If you’ve already got them, refine them! Learning never ends in the digital age.

Don’t panic if you don’t get them immediately, you will eventually. As they say, consistency is what makes the difference, after all.

Are there skills you know that we missed? Please let us know in the comment section.