What Does 21st Century Literacy Look Like?

I don’t think the traditional text on paper is going to be important once voice user interface (VUI) and smart speakers are everywhere. Currently, we have some 4 billion people connected to the Internet. It will be a while before we get the remaining 3 billion and longer still before they all have VUI access. However, my guess is that will happen before the remaining 20% of the globe who has yet to become literate gains text base literacy.

So if reading letters on paper isn’t the key to economic success and subsequent social ranking (in some cultures), what is the knowledge that is critical in the knowledge economy? Clearly for our tech-based world, computer literacy is a critical element, but millennials all over the world are showing surprising acumen in this area. So, what else?

I personally think numeracy (knowledge of numbers, aka math) is critical. I also think financial literacy is lacking in the US and while interrelated to numeracy is clearly a distinct thought process.

I also think musical literacy is related to math, although as a musical Luddite, I’m not clear in what way. I also think musical literacy is a critical skill. However, beyond some vague notion of how it impacts synaptic growth, I’m not sure why.

What are the other forms of literacy that are important to our lives today and in the next decade or two? Perhaps emotional literacy?