I’m feeling it’s a little blurry when it comes to determining when I can consider myself network literate. Is it a matter of opinion? If I can navigate my way around the web, click on links, type in URLs, embed files in my blog, type a little bit of HTML and work out the validity of stuff I read on the internet is this not being network literate? Or do I need to take it that next step further? Understanding the behind the scenes features of the web such as the nature of databases and coding, does that make me network literate?  Where is the scale that tells me how I’m doing?

I am aware that changing a tyre on a car does not make me a mechanic (for the record I can’t change a tyre but this was the example used in class). So who says you have qualified for the title of mechanic? Is it when you do an apprenticeship and someone gives you a certificate? Or when you have been taught by your dad how to fix cars since you were a kid- this person may even have more knowledge than the person who received the certificate?  So is it then about having a piece of paper, level of knowledge, ongoing practice or something else I’m missing? You don’t need a certificate to be print literate or network literate. My Grandma is without a doubt network illiterate; she’s barely mobile phone literate. So if I know more about the internet than my Grandma but less than someone who creates the webpages and sets up databases then am I network literate or not?