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Picture obtained from Unsplash

Welcome readers to the second section of my blog! As I stated earlier, in this section I shall be focusing on which ways illiteracy can affect decision-making. Specfically I shall be focusing on how four issues play a majore role in hindering the effectiveness of communication.

  • Delivery of health information

In response the COVID-19 pandemic governments predomiantly made use of digital platforms to promote health. It would be logical to assume that this was the prefered channel of communication as the internet guarantees that a large target audience can access this information. However what seems to have been ignored is that using the internet also requires an array of different skills. This also includes basic literacy skills; as how can you be expected to find information on the internet when you have difficulties with reading and writing. Does this mean that the Internet is not a good platform to share health information ? absolutlely not ! We just shouldn’t neglect that an additional set of skills is needed to navigate the online platform effectively.

  • Medical jargon

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Doctors often use words that are unfamiliar to their patients. This is because the words they use might be used in specific professions rather than everyday language. This may affect an individuals decision making negatively as they wont be able to ask any follow up questions or express their personal worries.

  • misinformation

How are individuals with no background in education going to ditinguish a reliable source from an unrelieable one ? In an increasingly digitalzing world ; information on the internet is in abundance. It is for this reason that one must have the ability to identify what is reliable and what is not. Due to a massive number of people with mobile phones and access to the internet , false information and fake news spreads faster than ever before. Even individuals with strong background in education should be careful when trying to identify when a source is reliable.

  • The use of numbers

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Numbers play an essential role in putting problems into perspective. This is because numbers can influencing perception and can also be used as a technique to persuade. For example, some individuals might look at the amount of positive cases or the number of deaths that have been caused by COVID-19 and deduce that immidiate preventative measures must be taken. What is interesting is that number have also been used by politicians to downplay the urgency of a need for a response such as when the corona virus numerbers were compared to those of the seasonal flue. This comparison gives the impression that the seasonal flue is as contageous as the COVID-19 virus and thus there shouldnt be any need to worry.

Conclusion

In conclusion we can see how a lack in literacy skills is closely interlinked with having a deficiecy in other skills. Information related to COVID-19 should be communicated in a manner that allows for it to be understood universally within a society. As rising number of covid cases continues to increase it is important to adresss these defficiencies that act as a barrier for individuals with limited literacy skills from obtaining the necessary information they need and deserve. Everyone should have a fair chance in living a long healthy life.