What is media literacy?

Headnote

It is accepted that media literacy is important but what does it mean in an increasingly converged communications environment? Sonia Livingstone suggests some answers.

It is increasingly important that we as a society are able not only to identify but also to facilitate the acquisition of those skills and abilities required by the population at large to use today's information and communication technologies effectively and safely.

These skills and abilities are much debated in relation to the labour market, education, the home, leisure, communication environments and so forth. And often different sectors have very different kinds of skills in mind - including low-level technical skills (typing, installing a modem and getting an ISP, operating the electronic programme device) and very high level skills (participating on democratic debate online, critically evaluating open government, contributing to one's culture creatively).

In the UK policy debate, these and other skills, abilities and understandings have been brought under the heading of 'media literacy' in the 2003 Communications Bill. The debate is thus becoming focused on the following questions: What is media literacy? How is it changing in the new and converging media environment? What is media literacy for (and why does it matter if some have more than others)? How should it best be promoted?1

DEFINING MEDIA LITERACY

In The Changing Nature and Uses of Media Literacy2, I define media literacy as "the ability to access, analyse, evaluate and create messages across a variety of contexts".

This four-component model has the advantage of applying equally well to print, broadcasting and the internet. This is familiar territory for print and broadcasting, subject of many policy initiatives and educational curricula. This may encompass internet literacy, thus.

1. ACCESS

Access rests on a dynamic and social process, not a one-off act of provision. Once initial access is established, developing literacy leads users to alter significantly and continually the conditions of access (updating, upgrading and extending hardware and software applications). Problematically, given socio-demographic inequalities in material, social and symbolic resources, inequalities in access to online knowledge, communication and participation will continue.

2. ANALYSIS

People's engagement with both print and audiovisual media has been shown to rely on a range of analytic competencies. In the audiovisual domain these include an understanding of the...