Global literacy landscapes in the digital era: Opportunities and challenges.

 

But are we equipped with the necessary literacy skills to benefit from digitalization? Compared to half a century ago when nearly one out of four young people (aged 15-24) could neither read nor write, 93% of young people were literate in 2024 due largely to the expansion of formal basic education. However, one out of ten youth and adults (739 million) still lacked basic literacy skills, with disparities across regions, countries and populations, and especially affecting women and learners with various forms of vulnerabilities (e.g. poverty, disabilities). About 80% of them live in 31 countries targeted by the UNESCO-led Global Alliance for Literacy (GAL). But these data based on self- or proxy-declaration are an underestimation. When skills are directly measured, 18% of adults in 31 developed countries lack the most basic levels of proficiency in literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem-solving. In these countries, adult literacy has actually stagnated or declined since 2012 with some exceptions. Additionally, four out of ten children are failing to achieve minimum proficiency in reading, while 272 million children and adolescents were out of school in 2023. In this context, digitalization presents both opportunities and challenges. First, the accelerated adoption of digital solutions since the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how such technologies can improve various aspects of lifelong learning ecosystems in support of literacy development. When they are used in an effective, equitable, ethical and sustainable manner, technologies help enhance or transform teaching and learning content, materials, practices, and assessment with the development and use of relevant infrastructures, online platforms, open educational resources, AI-poweredapplications and other digital tools. Digital and/or open and distance learning, for instance, has contributed to expanding learning opportunities especially for marginalized populations, while technologies facilitate the use of local content and languages in practice. Additionally, virtual spaces foster dialogue, coordination, peer support and learning, which potentially help learners, educators, practitioners, administrators and other literacy stakeholders. Digitalization adds complexity to existing literacy challenges. Persistent digital divides – whether related to access, gender, skills, participation, or representation in a cyber space – combined with uneven literacy progress across regions, countries and population groups, are increasing educational inequalities and deepening literacy challenges already faced by the most vulnerable populations. In 2024, 93% of the population in high-income countries used the internet, compared with only 27% in low-income countries. Globally less than half of primary schools have access to the internet for pedagogical purposes. The COVID-19 educational disruption was a reminder that digital learning is not within easy reach for many learners, especially the marginalized and low-skilled. It also shed light on the considerable constraints faced by literacy educators, notably inadequate digital skills in addition to issues such as limited professional development opportunities, low remuneration, and insufficient recognition. It is also important to note that literate individuals tend to benefit more from digitalizationas low literacy skills may limit one’s ability to acquire digital skills. This can impact the way in which people navigate the knowledge society, benefit from the digital transition and new job opportunities, and cope with the rise of misinformation, disinformation and ‘echo chambers’. In OECD countries, only 9% of 15-year-olds could distinguish ’fact’ from ’opinion‘ in digital texts. Furthermore, caution has been raised regarding technology-supported literacy activities around issues such as data privacy and security, algorithmic biases, undermined human and social aspects of teaching and learning, mental health implications and negative cognitive effects of excessive reliance on digital devices, including the reduced mental capacity to read and think deeply. These challenges highlight the importance of developing more solid and higher levels of literacy skills, while ensuring linguistic, cultural, and epistemic diversity, through enhancing holistic lifelong learning ecosystems, and embracing policies, programmes, practices, monitoring, governance, financing and partnerships.