MEDIALITERACYAND
DIGITALINCLUSION
2020-2021
MASTERNEWMEDIA&SOCIETY PROF.VANAUDENHOVE
D.L.Y.
, CHAPTERONE
INTRODUCTION
1.TWOTHEMES
1.2.MEDIALITERACY
● History
○ Discussedsincethe1930s(e .g.discussionsafterWWIIrelatedtotheissueofpropaganda)
■ Actually all theories that ‘prescribe’ how to use media (e .g. prescribed behaviour in
audienceisrelatedtomediaeducation)
■ FrankfurterSchule-WalterBenjaminstextonmassmedia(negativeview)
■ LiteraryCritics(UK)-FrankLeavispreservationofliterarytradition(audiovisualtextsarenot
thesameasliterarytexts,worthmore)
○ Earlytheoriesmainlyfocusonnegativeaspectsofmedia
■ Commercialmanipulation
■ Massmediaandpopularculture
■ e.g. social media, people are isolated, no longer that much social contact; addiction to
gamingandsocialmedia(constantstimulitorespondto);(child)pornographyandaddiction;
gamingandviolence;aggression,diffamationonline;informationoverload,peerpressureof
beingpartofthosenetworks;cyberbullying
○ Focuson‘good’,‘qualitative’,‘aesthetic’formsofmedia
● Medialiteracy:protectionismstillpresent( mediashouldprotectusfromtheharmfulmedia)
○ MediaEffectsSchool
■ Shortandlong-termnegativeeffectsofmedia
■ Advertising,violence,addiction,etc.
■ James Potter’s Book:MediaEducation(mainlylooksatnegativeaspects,medialiteracyto
protectourkids)
○ Critical(Marxist)PoliticalEconomicSchool
■ Mediaideologicallysupportcapitalism
■ Biasincontentandprogramming
■ Misrepresentationofreality
■ Focusonconsumerism(commercialmediastimulatespeopleintoconsuming,notcriticalof
commerce)
■ ‘Don’tlookatmainstreammedia,butsmallandlocalmedia’
●
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,● Threecurrenttrends
1. Empowermentapproach
■ Observation media part of mediated society (everything we do is mediated by digital
communication)
■ Users/youngstersarecapableofactivelyengaging
■ Medialiteracyfocusesonaugmenting‘autonomy’(empowermentofopportunities)
■ Programsoftenstartfromcontentaudiencesactuallyuse
■ CulturalstudiesandConstructivistapproachesineducation
■ Shortandlong-termnegativeeffectsofmedia
2. Shiftinmediaandcommunicationduetodigitisation
■ Passiveusersbecomeactiveproducers
■ Responsibilityandself-regulationmoreimportant(e .g.companiesarestrugglingwithhow
tofilters.a.TwitterandmisinformationTrump)
■ Newchannels,difficulttoregulate
3. Focusonskillsandcompetences
■ Movingfromcognitivedeconstructingcompetences
■ Includingoperationalandpracticalskill
● Linkedtomakingandproducingmedia
● Beliefthatthisenhances‘insight’inmedia:(1)productionofmedia,(2)workingof
media,(3)effectsofmedia
● Howshouldusersengagewithmedia?
○ Definitionhidesamuchmorecomplexdebate:howshouldpeopleengagewithmedia
○ Box1-Protectionview:safespaceofmedia,alotofparentsdothis,parentaldecisionsothatpartof
these mainstream media remain blocked, some players (don’t) allow parental control, generic
⇒
device: with digitisation you can almost do everything on any device difficult to protect (e .g.
computersforhomework,aretheyreallyusingscreentimeforhomework)
○ Box2-Empowermentview:mediaisdangerous,youneedtoprotectyourself
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, ● Competencemodel-Mediawijs
○ Media have an entertainment function:
instrumentalandfunctional
○ Resits:consumerism,privacybreachers,etc.
○ Operationalskills
○ Competences when talking about media
literacyanddigitalinclusionbyMediawijs
○ Center which was set upsevenyearsagoto
stimulatemedialiteracyinFlanders
○ Group of 10 people thatdevelopcampaigns
andthingsforschools
○ Implementsmedialiteracypolicy
○ Media should help us to resist to
governmentsthatstarttoinfringeonourlives
○ Twosidestothecompetencesweneed:(1)understandmedia(observe,analyse,evaluate,reflect),
(2)beabletousemedia(operate,navigat,organise,produce)
○ ⇒
Organisation of media, economic processes, technological processes shape and bias media in
termsofwhatwesee
1.2.DIGITALDIVIDE/INCLUSION
● History
○ Discussedsincethe1950s
■ Harold Innis Bias of Communication/Empire and Communication: every medium has a
differentbiasonsocietyandhasastructuringeffect
■ Introduction of writing - individual and self-advancement (e .g. writes about empires and
communication, rise and demise of empires of political power, dualisation in society,
different classes in society, one of the first authors to reflect on levels of literacy and its
effectsonsociety)
■ Educatedelites(dependentonaccessandskills)
○ 1990sDigitalDivide-RiseoftheInternet
■ HavesandHavenots(e .g.accessthroughdevices,butalsohowweconnecttonetworks)
■ First focus on digital divide in the West (95% of population has access to the Internet):
everyonehasaccess,movedtodifferentdiscussions(e .g.duetocovid,reneweddiscussion
aboutaccess,realisealotofhouseholdsonlyhaveonedevice)
■ Second focus on digital divide in the South (or between West and South): South Africa
relatively rich country with access, mobile phones for communication, but bad for
homeschooling
■ Highfocusoninfrastructureprovision(access)
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