Intelligence In A Digital Age — IQ, EQ & DQ — What They Are & Why It Matters
You don’t have to be told that the world is a changing place.
The internet and digital technology have flipped everything upside down and altered just about every part of our daily lives to some extent.
It’s gotten to the point where researchers have started to measure intelligence when it comes to technology in an entirely different category.
In fact, there are entire books written about how our intelligence is changing, and the new things we need to learn to help us stay safe in an increasingly digital world.
You’ve heard of IQ before — it’s a measure of intelligence or “Intelligence Quotient.”
Whether IQ can be measured objectively or not is a subject that’s often debated, but one thing that’s certain is that having a high IQ provides certain advantages in life.
EQ, a somewhat lesser-known term, stands for “Emotional Quotient.”
It’s also a measure of intelligence, but only related to emotions.
Individuals with a high EQ are often better at understanding and using their own emotions in a positive way.
That can include relieving stress, defusing conflicts, and communicating with others.
DQ is a little different — but no less important.
It stands for “Digital Quotient,” or digital intelligence, and measures how well you can understand and interact with the technological world.
Experts believe that DQ will continue to become more important as technology advances, and people with a higher DQ will see more benefits from it as time goes on.
How Digital Intelligence Affects Everything
30 years ago, DQ meant very little.
While some people were smarter when it came to technology, the digital world wasn’t integrated into every part of our lives.
Today, that’s simply not true anymore.
Everything from our telephones to our kitchen appliances and light bulbs are connected to the internet, and that means we need to learn how to survive in this interconnected new landscape.
This is a growing concern among many experts, as the current older generations have had this entire online ecosystem spring up around them.
What’s even more concerning though is how future generations will handle the problem, as digital technology continues to be integrated even further into every aspect of our daily lives.
Getting Ahead Of The Curve
There are certain things that we should all be considering now, as they’re already affecting us today.
How does screen-time affect our children, especially now that education is deeply integrated into the digital space?
Is gaming having a negative effect on kids, and is banning games the right solution?
What kind of digital skills are necessary to make it in the workplace of tomorrow?
These tough questions don’t have easy answers, but some of the world’s top experts are hard at work compiling answers — and finding more questions to ask.
It can be difficult trying to stay one step ahead of all the changes that are coming at us — but with a little expert help, we can make it through.
The problems are certainly tough, but the benefits are unquestionable.
I, for one, welcome the digital revolution.
