Phenomenon digitization

Digitisation is a great enrichment and, of course, also a great challenge for our society and is constantly evolving. This means that we must always find new ways to deal with it and determine in which sectors new elements are taking effect. In this respect, it is also necessary to permanently work on our media skills. I am active in social work and deal with digital in this field. There is always the question of how I can find ways to let people actively participate in our digital society. How can I protect them from risks? For example, how can I set up projects with my students to become active in the digital field? Of course childhood and youth and also the adult life of people has changed insanely. The media have become a new instance of socialisation in principle and are constantly bringing us new contacts in new contexts, with people who do not even need to be in our physical proximity. This makes us much more agile, much more global, much more networked. For professional further education or generally for professional existence, an incredibly large number of things have changed, which we can and should always keep in mind. And this is exactly where it is important to look at how I can accompany people on this path? Because it is not the case that there are people who, because the Internet has always been there, are simply Internet-competent from the outset or who can deal with all these phenomena. Instead, because technology is constantly evolving, you have to look again and again: What is the new element right now? To which things do I perhaps have to pay attention again now? How can I stay on the pulse of time? On the one hand, it is of course important for politics that structures are created in which we can also acquire media skills, in which we are equipped with technology in the diverse sectors, but also with concepts. So far, it is still very much the case that we are working more on equipping ourselves with devices than on developing concepts and creating scope for putting them into practice. That means that this is actually the important area where we should start.

• Judith Ackermann an der Fachhochschule Potsdam