This page was at the back of a book I got from the library. It was published in 1978.
Thankfully, the U.S. illiteracy rate around 2000 was 1 percent and it's the same now, in 2010.
Literacy should always be a priority, but I think the new threat to adults is computer literacy. While the disparity between socioeconomic groups results in a lack of access to technology -- especially updated equipment -- and education, the real challenge is and will be in the disparity between age groups.
For the millennial generation and the ones that follow, technology is part of life: hardware, software and accessing the Internet almost anywhere. We know what hyperlinks are, how they work (at least to an extent) and why they are what makes the Web. For older generations, adapting to these new standards of communication, marketing and presence in the marketplace may take time. Of course, there are plenty of examples of seasoned professionals who are at the front of the curve -- leading the way.
What's your prediction for computer literacy in our future?
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While I agree that computer literacy is becoming a necessity, I'm afraid too many people rely on it for their only source of communication. Without talking face to face, we lose a lot of what may have been intended. It leaves room for misinterpretation. Is it possible to be computer literate while not being tied to the monitor full time for our only source of social media?
That's true, Ann. We lose a lot of communication when we take out body language, intonation, etc. Is it possible to refuse to jump fully into the world of Internet communication and not miss out?
Those statistics that 3rd parties always try to market to the world are always so dramatic!
It does make me wonder where they got their prediction. The organization is still around today, fyi.
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