Data literacy is a dire need!

The world has been changing by several means. Whether it is climate change issues, shifting of global hegemony, or outbreaks of diseases. But one thing has taken the dominance factor over all the things.

After the 4th industrial revolution which is also called the ‘Internet Revolution’, the things which were considered to be most worthy have lost their significance and the things which were far away from them in terms of value have kicked them off from the minds of the contemporary world’s people.

Gold is not worthy, even platinum is not worthy. Now, data has become the most valuable asset on earth.

Why data has gained so much value. The reason is the minds which are behind tech demons like Facebook, Google which went beyond the typical definition of data.

They have created sophisticated algorithms which track our gestures on their platforms like our interests, behaviors, time spending and they provide this data to all the people who pay them in terms of doing business on their platforms.

The purpose is the manipulation of users’ minds to change their decisions. So, that the final result could be the benefit of their partners. In simple means, if you are not buying the product you are the product.

We have plenty of examples in which these tech demons played a big role in altering people’s decisions.

Brexit, US Elections 2016, Cambridge Analytica cases are eyes opening events in which after extensive investigation these platforms proved to be guilty in a dirty game.

A few days ago the appearance of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen has forced us to review our tech life. That’s why data literacy has become a dire need for every responsible person. The solution for being Data Literate is not to have comprehensive knowledge about programming languages.

You just have to do four steps whenever you see any news, viral content, ads on these platforms. Which will allow you to make data-informed decisions. Data literacy is the ability to read, work with, analyze and argue with data.

The first characteristic is the ability to read which is the most powerful step in data literacy. In which you can look at something and understand it. In common life example If you go to a refrigerator shop there, you find a variety but you would be able to identify what is a good fit for you.

The second step is to work with data which doesn’t mean doing maths but being comfortable and not panicking when any of the viral content or information is presented before you.

The third one is analyzing the data. This is to find ‘why’ behind any content, to get the answer you have to check its insights. Because we are often making observations whenever the information is presented before us. The last characteristic is arguing with data. It is the process of putting ourselves in the shoes of others. Because in each incident we could have different positions and a smart decision demands us to think about both sides.

So, you have to be curious and creative If you want to survive in this world with peace.

Written By  Wajid Ali | Lahore