Abstract
The EU Memorandum on Lifelong Learning explicitly numbers IT skills among the "new basic skills for all". Without a basic computer literacy, participation in European societies is increasingly limited and people are excluded from a broad field of societal life. This chapter takes a look at the gap in computer literacy between generations and expounds the problems of that digital divide. There is empirical evidence on how older adults deal with new media and what preconditions and requirements support learning activities in that field. Forms of intergenerational learning can play an important role in this context. Anyhow, new media is also seen from a critical perspective as they include and exclude people at the same time and as even many younger people are not skilled enough to evaluate the risks and limits of digital media properly.
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Schmidt-Hertha, B., Strobel-Dümer, C. (2014). Computer Literacy Among the Generations: How Can Older Adults Participate in Digital Society?. In: Zarifis, G., Gravani, M. (eds) Challenging the 'European Area of Lifelong Learning'. Lifelong Learning Book Series, vol 19. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7299-1_3
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