Rose 1

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Digital Literacies as a Second Language

Micayla Rose
Professor Cassandra Blandford
UWRT 1101
17 September 2015

Rose 2
The concept of literacy goes beyond simply being able to read and write. Digital
literacies allow people to use technology as a form of communication and display information
faster and more efficiently. Its purpose is to make our lives easier. There are so many types of
digital literacies used around the globe in the everyday lives of most humans: online books,
YouTube videos, social media accounts, and many more. Social media plays a big role in the
lives of the majority of individuals. Online books and other educational digital literacies are
being used increasingly in schools. Digital literacies have become a second language as society
progressed and they will continue to grow. They are continually attracting different generations
and institutions.
Language is a means of communication, whether it be written or spoken. Digital
literacies have become a new language, mainly in the lives of teenagers and young adults. People
are interested in seeing what is going on in the world and in other peoples lives; they like the
level of interaction that comes along with technology without having to physically be with the
other person. It is fascinating that by the touch of a button, anyone with access to technology can
interact with people across the globe, but at the same time it can be very destructive to traditional
communication. People are becoming dependent on technology and it is consuming their lives;
they are forgetting how to interact with each other on a casual and professional level and how to
hold a decent conversation with others face to face. Technology has become an escape and safety
net especially for people who are insecure or shy. Digital literacies can also be categorized as a
second language because older generations are not accustomed to them. They can be difficult to
learn, especially if people are introduced to them at a later stage in life, which is also true for
other languages. The fear of trying to learn something new can also play a role. Although there
are many disadvantages, the benefits of digital literacies are prevalent. If someone is bilingual or

Rose 3
trilingual, he or she has a better chance of getting a job over someone who only can speak one
language. The same concept applies to technology. People who are familiar with media literacy
skills outcompete those individuals who do not use digital literacies. As technology progresses,
digital literacies will progress too.
[The origins of human language] are very hard to determine. What we do know is that
something important happened in the human line between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago. This
shows that language has been evolving for thousands of years. Digital literacy has changed very
rapidly. When most of todays adults were teenagers, this technology was not accessible like it is
now. Schools were not using devices such as iPads, Macbooks, or Kindles, and there definitely
were not any social media sites. People had to hand write letters and papers instead of e-mailing
them or typing them on a computer. That was only roughly twenty to thirty years ago. Even
recently, laptops have become more prevalent over desktops. Society has advanced
tremendously; teachers are now incorporating more technology into their lesson plans and
students are using it as a learning tool. School systems are introducing technology to students at
younger ages and they are missing out on learning the basics of reading and mathematics.
Digital literacies are a huge part of society and language. They have transformed
from just an easy way to communicate and portray information to a way of life. Social media
sites, YouTube videos, online books, movies, etc. are digital literacies that are used by people of
all ages all around the world. They are so dominant and influential that they can be cataloged as a
second language. They are a way for people to communicate although they can be detrimental
to real-life conversation. As society continues to grow and modernize, digital literacies will grow
as well. All generations have most likely encountered this technology at some point in their life,
and organizations are finding ways to incorporate more technology to become up-to-date with

Rose 4
society. For example, more churches are becoming technologically savvy to appeal to more
people. Digital literacies are currently predominant, but in ten years from now, there will be new
technology that most people will not be able to fathom.

Rose 5
Works Cited
Ray Jackendoff. How did language begin? The Purdue Owl. Purdue U Writing Lab, 6 August.
Web. 16 September 2015.