One of the most valued soft skills of the future is digital literacy. Not in vain is it an essential skill today. In evidence, just look at how we live in an increasingly digitally connected world, so the ability to navigate and succeed online has become a crucial asset for full participation in society. But beware, not all that glitters is gold, you must be cautious. It's not about being always present and in all places. It's about being smart professionals with informed decision making.

Howard Rheingold, with his book "Net Smart: How to Thrive Online," offers a practical and thoughtful approach to understanding and applying how digital literacy can help us succeed and avoid making missteps in this potentially slippery terrain. It is about paying attention, having strategic participation, provoking collaboration, and interaction, yes, but it must be done with a critical mass that leads me to understand how to make intelligent use of networks.

Digital literacy is much more than simply knowing how to use digital devices and tools. That is only the first step, but who is an expert in handling them, if he is not intelligent can slip and make mistakes that negatively affect his professional and personal life. A person who has the digital literacy proficiency understands the essential skill set that allows them to thrive in the online world.

As in many other professional aspects, the first step is care. It is logical and at the same time fundamental to understand that in an online environment that is characterized by the constant avalanche of information and distractions, the one who pays attention has a competitive advantage. Rheingold invites us to be aware of how we distribute our attention online and to learn to focus on what really matters. The ability to manage our attention in an overwhelming digital world is necessary to make the most of online opportunities.

The second step is what many believe to be the first: participation. It is important to note that neo we can throw ourselves in a joyful and naïve way to swim in a turbulent ocean. Therefore, first carefully choose our strategy and then we begin to be active creators. We don't want to be mere passive consumers of online content. In the age of social media and online collaboration, contributing valuable content and participating in online communities has become crucial. Rheingold makes us reflect that active participation allows us not only to consume information, but also to shape the conversation and be part of the creation of knowledge online. It invites us to stop seeing and start acting. It is about leaving the attitude of following to start setting the course.

Collaboration is the third step and is closely related to participation. Using online tools to work effectively with others is to be on the right path of digital literacy. Social networks and collaboration platforms allow something wonderful that in the past was not accessible to us: cooperation in projects. Today, building online relationships and exchanging ideas is the smart way to build support networks. The joke is not to be uploading photos of what we have for breakfast, or what we do at every moment, it is to choose the relevant content that we are going to share. The joke is that online collaboration helps us achieve personal and professional goals more effectively than ever before.

The fourth step is extremely relevant: criticism. It's about understanding the importance of being an informed professional online. We are all consumers of content, we must be selective. With the proliferation of information on the web, it is critical to develop critical skills to assess the quality and reliability of information. Rheingold urges us to discern between reliable and unreliable sources, and to question the information we find online. Being critical in our web browsing is essential to avoid misinformation and deception.

The last step proposed by Rheingold has to do with networks. It highlights the importance of building and managing online relationships strategically. The goal is to cultivate connections that are mutually beneficial and help us achieve our goals. In a digital world, our online networks can be just as valuable as real-world connections. They are complementary worlds that help us achieve our goals.

Digital literacy is an essential skill in today's society. The approach has to be oriented with professional intelligence. Digital literacy is not only about knowing how to use technology, but about developing skills that allow us to be informed and effective digital citizens.

That is, digital literacy does not work as a soft skill with only technical knowledge, it must be combined with emotional intelligence, analysis and strategy. It is built with this series of elements and in this way we can make it grow in a robust way so that it sivra us as a very useful tool to achieve our goals. Digital literacy is a relevant competence in the personal sphere. Digital literacy has wide-ranging benefits if we understand its functionality and is fundamental to success in the educational and professional field in the digital age. Digital literacy is undoubtedly highly relevant because it enables people to fully participate in society, access educational and employment opportunities, communicate effectively online, make informed decisions, and protect their privacy and security in an increasingly digital world. This skill has become an essential component of competence in modern society. Like everything, digitization can be a tool or a weapon; something that helps us build or the opposite. You have to know how to make good use of it.

The most important thing about Rheingold's book is that it awakens us to the awareness of not being digital consumers who eat everything they serve us without going through the sieve of analysis and does not stay in the sentence but gives us a method to follow to succeed in this environment. It is worth considering.