That is, technological literacy requires the ability of an individual to code and encode technological messages. The answer is easy in regard to language. It means being able to understand and use words and their meanings. A symbol is any entity that refers to any other entity that may or may not be present. Those entities may be material or abstract and include such things as words, numbers, pictures, diagrams, maps, and almost anything so long as it is interpreted and used as representing some kind of information.
Symbols are to be found alone or arranged in a system.
The group may be large or small, but the symbols have similar information value. Those questions are key in trying to understand technological literacy. The question is rhetorical, leading only to speculation rather than definitive answers. Some would argue that problemsolving, so central to technology, represents a shared symbol system. Still others imply that the shared symbol system of technology is either a quality of consciousness, a mastery of tools, or both.