Media and Information Literacy Repository – South Asia

Reception analysis takes into consideration not only individual differences but also cultural differences. On the other hand, there are diverse factors determining audience’s reception and active participation. Education, age, sex, economical status, family background, ethnicity, world –view and similar factors affect the reception process. Besides that, being media literate and fostering a critical approach towards media texts also determines reception. Taking into account all these factors, this research is designed as a comparative reception analysis. We will be comparing the reception of a global product by youngsters (Survivor Show) within the scope of media literacy education and cultural differences. For that purpose we realized focus group discussions with communication faculty students from Spain and Turkey. The research was realized in the framework of literature review including the above mentioned topics.

Widespread misleading stories circulating in networked public spheres have raised debates about their potential harm to democracies, organizations, and individuals. In the face of this challenge, educators have been rightly questioning how to prepare students to thrive in this so-called post-truth era. Scholarship on media and information literacies has often focused on incorporating new topics to address the issue and re-articulating learning goals. This body of work, however, does not address the question of how to deal with fast-paced changes that surround information disorder in the digital age. Based on Stuart Selber’s multiliteracies, this article proposes a set of competencies in combination with an analysis of the factors that contribute to the creation and circulation of false information. My argument focuses on students’ need to effectively identify misleading stories, thoughtfully question the role of technology in society, and ethically engage in civic dialogues. Taken together, these skills and knowledge provide a framework that they can expand upon as the landscape of information disorder shifts.

The Paralympics is globally the largest and most significant sporting event that takes place for athletes with a disability. The 2020 Tokyo Games was heralded as significant in its extensive media coverage that served to promote the disability athletic movement, breaking all broadcasting viewing records from the number of broadcasters, viewers, and a number of events provided live. In the past, however, media reporting of the Paralympic Games has not been without controversy. Stereotypical representations of disability, for example, have often been cited). These involve representations such as framing disability as something to be overcome; where athletes ‘participate’ rather than ‘compete’; and for those with adaptive technology, being portrayed as ‘cyborgs’, rather than as competitive athletes. This article has been driven by the curiosity to determine if media depictions of Paralympic athletes have improved over time. We wished to explore the current representations of the print and television coverage in Australia of the 2020 Tokyo games. Our research found that media coverage did, for the most part, provide coverage of events where Paralympians were represented as athletes first and their disability second. Despite this positive outcome, stereotypes prevailed in both print and television reporting. These included minimalising a person's disability, often to the point of making the disability invisible; focussing on overcoming tragedy; using inspirational language to position athletes as advocates for the disability; the use of patronising language; and the positioning of athletes as needing to be grateful. We conclude that whilst the media in Australia has made significant steps towards representing Paralympians as elite athletes, continued attention and primary focus needs to be given to the athlete’s first narrative.

Since the 1980s, media literacy has been a central topic in the field of communication, media, and education studies as a result of a parallel growth of polarization between societal groups and use of digital technologies for self-representation. In this article, we present a brief overview of the evolvement of media literacy and other competing terms and discuss emerging approaches that incorporate issues related to the politics of difference, representations and voice of marginalised groups. Although existing concepts and projects focus on singular aspects such as representation and media production by minorities, they do not commonly integrate concerns of diversity and media literacy education from a critical and holistic perspective. Building on critical pedagogy, feminist and decolonial theory, there is a need for a more inclusive and intersectional approach to media literacy education. Such an approach should focus not only on marginalized groups but also on society as a whole, it should advocate a critical understanding of the mediated construction of reality and offer grounds to successfully challenge dominant representations, and it should equip people with the skills not only to participate and raise their own voices but also to pay more attention to practices of listening to work toward a level playing field between mainstream and marginalized groups.

Media and Information Literacy (MIL) is essential for navigating information as technology continues to grow. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teaching and learning were implemented through online platforms, requiring academicians and students to be equipped with media and information literacy. In the digital age, where business success depends on staff performance, MIL integration is crucial. MIL empowers people to be curious, to search, to critically evaluate, to use, and to contribute information and media content wisely. It also calls for competence in knowing one’s rights online, combating online hate speech and cyberbullying, addressing misinformation and disinformation, and understanding the ethical issues surrounding access and use of information. Academic personnel require knowledge, skills, and psychological capacity to teach, research, and serve the community. These age-, gender-, socio-religious-, educational-, and literacy-diverse individuals behave differently. This study proposes the moderating role of socio-demographic factors between MIL and individual work performance to improve academic staff capabilities and service delivery.

Purpose – Media and Information Literacy (MIL) education plays a crucial role in combating misinformation and disinformation in the digital era. This study explores an innovative pedagogical approach by integrating Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) into non-digital game-based learning to bridge gaps in MIL knowledge and skills among Malaysian secondary and tertiary students, while also addressing the digital divide. Given that current MIL interventions often rely solely on self-assessment, this study emphasizes the need for more objective assessment methods to measure actual learning outcomes. Methodology – A one-group pre-post-test mixed-methods research design was employed. A total of 95 participants from secondary and tertiary educational institutions in Malaysia engaged in an ELT-informed MIL board game intervention. The impact on MIL knowledge was assessed using a structured MIL knowledge test and a qualitative feedback survey. Findings – Results indicate that the intervention positively influenced MIL knowledge acquisition, as indicated by statistically significant improvements in post-test scores. Qualitative feedback further revealed enhanced understanding of MIL concepts, strengthened sense of responsible digital citizenship, and affirmation of the experiential game-based approach as an effective learning method. Significance – This study offers valuable insights into the application of ELT within non-digital game-based MIL education, particularly across diverse educational levels in Malaysia. It presents a scalable and cost-effective model for fostering critical thinking and ethical media engagement, offering practical recommendations for educators, community-based organisations, and policymakers in advancing MIL education nationwide.

Innovation of technology in communication, especially social media offer an interactive platform for young people to participate in political activities. By using social media, lack of media literacy competency reported has a significant influence on low integrity conduct such as flashing provocation, joining the street demonstration, spreading fake news, defamation and slanders intentionally to create damage on certain political parties. This scenario significantly leads to high political cynicism that affected political participation integrity level among young people in social media. Since, low political participation integrity source of unhealthy democracy, this study aims to examine the effect of media literacy dimensions such as access, evaluation and act toward political participation integrity among young people in social media. A survey was used for data gathering among 388 Higher Education Institution students in Melaka. The data analyzed descriptively and inferentially using SPSS and SEM AMOS to provide an empirical understanding of news media literacy contribution towards political participation integrity. This study presents the significant effect of media literacy from dimensions of access, analysis and evaluation and acts towards political participation integrity. Surprisingly, educated yang people claimed from the previous study has little interest to politically engage in social media, basically participate in political activities such as neutralising negative comment in social media posted by the online community, reporting misconduct in social media to the authorized body and updating political information on certain issues using personal social media account.

This study investigates the information and participatory political practices of marginalized youth via four focus groups with 23 teens (aged 13–17 years) from two geographically distinct regions of the United States to address this limited understanding. The findings indicate that teens encounter political information and news from members of their social networks via digital media more than legacy media outlets, because it enables them to assert agency over social and political issues to which they feel connected. Furthermore, teens identify a tension between viewing adults, specifically teachers and politicians, as authoritative yet untrustworthy information sources, which can lead to their use of digital media to verify or challenge what adults are telling them. Finally, teens must navigate the sociotechnical challenges of digital media, including exposure to unwanted information and the potential social backlash of posting content that could be considered by others to represent slacktivism.

More than 300 studies have been published on the relationship between digital media and engagement in civic and political life. With such a vast body of research, it is difficult to see the big picture of how this relationship has evolved across time and across the globe. This article offers unique insights into how this relationship manifests across time and space, using a meta-analysis of existing research. This approach enables an analysis of a 20-year period, covering 50 countries and including survey data from more than 300,000 respondents. While the relationship may vary cross-nationally, the major story is the trend data. The trend data show a pattern of small, positive average coefficients turning into substantial, positive coefficients. These larger coefficients may be explained by the diffusion of this technology across the masses and changes in the types of use, particularly the rise of social networking sites and tools for online political participation.

Media exposure is widely known to increase institutional forms of political participation such as voting. Less well understood is whether media exposure also affects protest, a less institutional form of engagement. This paper examines the mechanics through which this relationship operates by considering the media's direct and indirect effect on voting and protesting, via political trust, efficacy, and knowledge. We make these comparisons by analyzing the unique Jennings panel dataset that collects information on respondents at three separate points. The results show that media exposure affects voting more than protesting and that these relationships operate through different mechanisms. While media exposure leads to voting because it increases political knowledge, it is associated with protest via external political efficacy. Furthermore, while this relationship is causal for voting it is only correlational for protest. The results illustrate the importance of disentangling forms of political engagement when considering media effects.

This study is based on a survey of 526 adult Malaysians who were interviewed shortly before the 2008 national election about online media use, levels of political participation, and voting intentions. The goal was to document the role of online media in a society that controls political information in traditional media and, in turn, compels citizens to seek alternative news sources online. As predicted, the findings indicated that online media use was positively associated with higher levels of political participation among Malaysian voters. The use of and exposure to social networking sites, political blogs, political online videos, party websites, and political ads on cell phones showed strong associations with political activism. However, the use of political online media did not predict voters’ likelihood of voting.

This paper examines the “Review of Social Media as Alternative Medium for Political Participation” in Nigeria, investigating diverse demographic groups and their engagement patterns.The study adopted survey methods, utilizing a sample size of 372. The study also investigates the key challenges and risks associated with social media use in political contexts, such as the spread of fake news, hate speech, privacy concerns, and online harassment. The research reveals a dynamic social media landscape in Nigeria, with active participation across various age groups. Young adults, especially those aged 25-34, are prominent users, indicating their active involvement in political discussions. Social media platforms serve as vital channels for disseminating political information and mobilizing citizens, with roles expanding from basic information sharing to active political campaigning. The findings underscore the influential role of social media in Nigerian politics, bridging generational gaps and mobilizing diverse segments of the population. The study highlights the need for robust regulations to curb the spread of misinformation and hate speech, ensuring the integrity of political discussions. The paper recommended the Implementation of the government to the adopt comprehensive media literacy programs to educate citizens, especially the younger demographic, about identifying and combating fake news and misinformation. Educated users are more likely to critically evaluate information, mitigating the impact of false narratives.

Mobile media have become increasingly popular and important in recent years as a means of accessing political information and participating in politics and elections worldwide. However, the emergent field of mobile-focused political participation research requires further definition and development to more clearly address why and how mobile media are producing distinct consequences for political participation. To address this problem, this article uses interdisciplinary insights and a critical review of relevant literature to identify research opportunities that stand to advance mobile political communication theory. Contributions and limitations of studies focused on ICTs and political participation are reviewed and discussed. Analysis of studies focused on the political participation outcomes of mobile media use is synthesized with theory from user-focused mobile communication literature to highlight the unique qualities that distinguish mobile media and the implications of those distinguishing features for studying political participation. Recommendations are made for research directions that would further investigate the association of mobile media’s distinctive features with online and offline forms of political participation. This analysis indicates opportunities for scholars to unpack mobile media’s unique features in ways that potentially redefine political participation, and, accordingly, further the development of research questions and theories that investigate the relationship of mobile media and political participation. It is concluded that research is needed that explains mobile media use in finer detail, accounts for shifting conceptualizations of political participation, and contributes to the development of cross-cultural comparative frameworks.

With the proliferation of new media technologies, online spaces for civic engagement are being used as new sites by the young people for enacting global citizenship. Some of these online civic spaces are managed by parent organizations and guide the participants towards accomplishing goals that align with the institutional policies. We use Stuart Hall’s theoretical framework to ground the two methods we used for empirical research- textual analysis of the selected online spaces and in-depth interviews with young bloggers. Our analysis shows how negotiated reading of the encoded messages on the online platforms for youth civic engagement marks a political moment of signification in which there lies a possibility of challenging the dominance of the adult centered notions of civic engagement. Shelat’s online civic culture framework [2014. “Citizens, Global Civic Engagement on Online Platforms: Women as Transcultural Citizens.” Dissertation] helped us examine how these managed platforms encode global citizenship with pre-designed participatory practices that reinforce the hegemonic definition of youth political participation. Interviews of young bloggers on two online global spaces foreground the process of negotiation with the dominant definitions and the use of decoding strategies to create scope for subjective, more local definitions, as well as practices of civic engagement and global citizenship. Though literature suggests that adult-management of online youth spaces perpetuate a gap between the adult-centric notions of participation and the youth oriented ideas of civic engagement, our study reveals that the young participants find ways of articulating their ideas and enter these spaces with plans on how to fulfill their civic goals.

The digital age has revolutionized civic engagement, transforming traditional participatory models through technological innovation. From social media to digital advocacy platforms, citizens now have unprecedented avenues to interact with democratic institutions and influence policy. This paper examines the multifaceted nature of digital civic engagement, tracing its historical evolution, highlighting key opportunities for participation, and examining persistent challenges such as digital inequality, misinformation, and ethical concerns. Special attention is given to the experiences of marginalized communities, the role of education in shaping civic consciousness, and the evolving strategies for measuring digital engagement’s impact. Through real-world case studies and critical analysis, this research underscores the importance of inclusive digital governance and a multidisciplinary approach to ensure that civic participation in the digital era remains equitable, effective, and aligned with democratic values.

In this paper, we explicate our research on technology-mediated urban experience specific to two hyper-local tests in which the space of the ‘public’ is transformed into a virtual network by connective broadcasting. The first case study presents collective mapping in Rio de Janeiro toward increased civic engagement and sustainability, the second tests documentation of political demonstrations for strategic and archival purposes for Occupy Boston. Grouped under the term “participatory urbanism,” the projects intend to explore how an individual activates interstitial space (between the physical city andhovering networks, between public and private) by engaging technology and civic media to affect change in the built environment. The physical and virtual environments serve as reciprocal sources of information, engendering a collective practice of shared encounters. We investigate how such encounters of user-centered activity through mobile and web-based media support or implicate the perception and manipulation of the built environment over spans of time and locations, and will highlight qualitative elements of a mobile and web platform designed for successful civic engagement and participatory urbanism.

There has been widespread concern in contemporary Western societies about declining engagement in civic life; people are less inclined to vote, to join political parties, to campaign for social causes, or to trust political processes. Young people in particular are frequently described as alienated or apathetic. Some have looked optimistically to new media—and particularly the Internet—as a means of revitalizing civic life and democracy. Governments, political parties, charities, NGOs, activists, religious and ethnic groups, and grassroots organizations have created a range of youth-oriented websites that encourage widely divergent forms of civic engagement and use varying degrees of interactivity. But are young people really apathetic and lacking in motivation? Does the Internet have the power to re-engage those disenchanted with politics and civic life? Based on a major research project funded by the European Commission, this book attempts to understand the role of the Internet in promoting young people's participation. Examples are drawn from Hungary, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom—countries offering contrasting political systems and cultural contexts. The book also addresses broader questions about the meaning of civic engagement, the nature of new forms of participation, and their implications for the future of civic life.

Media literacy has been increasingly becoming a prerequisite of full citizen participation. The latter has been shifting, especially among youth, away from the traditional media forms and more and more towards non-conventional ones. For example see the FridaysForFuture movement. The possibility for and abilities to get involved in the public debate are, though, not distributed equally. One of the tools to narrow down the ‘participation gap’ may be in media literacy education (MLE). This chapter presents a participatory action research exploring the possibilities of the MLE for the development of citizen participation of disadvantaged youth. It draws especially on the three-month intervention at the vocational school in the Czech Republic. 17 students aged 17–19 participated in the study in 2019.

Looking at recent examples of hashtag activism as collaborative storytelling practices and digital political communication, this article argues that sharing – in the sense of collectively held beliefs and grievances and their potential for creating narrative and social movements on social media – can be seen as operating on an educational level as well. Drawing on Ruth Page’s concept of the shared story and an analysis of the #MeToo movement, the article positions hashtag activism as a case study for sharing ideas, experiences, and skills, and the acquisition of information and media literacy. By extension, the paper provides an example of adopting an interdisciplinary approach in higher education that aims at enabling future teachers to retell, adapt, and remix stories and skills for their work in the EFL classroom.

The wide adoption of social media platforms has altered how people communicate, obtain information, and participate in society. Regarding political participation, social media has emerged as a novel venue for people to voice their opinions, connect with others who share their viewpoints, and engage in activism. As a result, knowing the effect of social media on political participation is critical, particularly in developing nations like Jordan. This research investigates the moderating effect of certain factors on the impact of social media on political involvement among Jordanian youth. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) approach is used to analyze data from a survey of 334 young people. The findings show that social media has a favorable and considerable impact on political participation. Gender was also discovered to have a strong moderating effect on the relationship between social media use and political participation. According to the analysis, gender positively moderates the effect of the frequency of social media use on political participation, while gender negatively moderates the effect of the purpose of social media usage on political participation. The study sheds light on the significance of social media in young people’s political participation in Jordan, emphasizing the need of taking differences in gender into account when developing effective tactics to engage young people in the political processes.

This study investigates how Omani youth perceive the safety and transparency of social media platforms as tools for civic engagement. Using a mixed-methods approach, data were collected from a nationwide survey of 346 respondents aged 18–29 and three virtual focus group discussions containing 15 participants. Survey respondents were selected through random sampling to ensure representation across gender, region, and socio-economic background. Focus group participants were also randomly drawn from the survey pool and stratified by age to capture generational differences in perception and behavior. Findings indicate that while social media platforms are recognized as accessible and interactive spaces that facilitate awareness and civic expression, significant concerns persist regarding data privacy, misinterpretation, and online harassment. Informative content and user-generated media were found to foster accountability, while entertainment-driven posts and emotionally charged activism often led to polarization or disengagement. The paper calls for enhanced digital literacy, context-sensitive platform moderation policies, and institutional support for transparent digital civic spaces.

Youth turnout at European Parliamentary elections has been dwindling. This study investigates the impact of news media exposure on electoral participation of first time voters. Relying on a data set that combines content analysis of news stories about the EU (N = 769) and a multiple wave panel survey (N = 994), we analyze the impact of exposure to online and offline coverage of relevant topics on turn out across a period of 6 months. We find that exposure to news in offline media had no significant effect on participation, whereas exposure to relevant news in online media positively affected turnout.

New technologies raise fears in public discourse. In terms of digital media use and youth, the advice has been to monitor and limit access to minimize the negative impacts. However, this advice would also limit the positive impacts of digital media. One such positive impact is increased engagement in civic and political life. This article uses meta-analysis techniques to summarize the findings from 106 survey based studies (965 coefficients) about youth, digital media use, and engagement in civic and political life. In this body of research, there is little evidence to suggest that digital media use is having dire impacts on youth’s engagement. We find that the positive impacts depend on directly political uses of digital media, such as blogging, reading online news, and online political discussion. These online activities have off-line consequences on participation, such as contacting officials, talking politics, volunteering, and protesting. We also find a very strong relationship between online political activities, such as joining political groups and signing petitions, with off-line political activities, which undermine claims of slacktivism among youth. Finally, while research generally assumes a causal flow from digital media to participation, the evidence for the alternative causal flow is strong and has very different implications on interventions designed to address youth’s levels of engagement in civic and political life.

The article investigates whether media literacy education can enhance youth civic and political engagement. Using a longitudinal panel dataset of high school and college students, it provides rare quantitative evidence on the prevalence and impact of media literacy education. The study finds that exposure to media literacy education is not strongly tied to demographic characteristics. Controlling for prior political interest and online political activity, the results show that digital media literacy education is associated with higher levels of online political engagement. It also links media literacy exposure to greater interaction with diverse political perspectives, suggesting its democratic potential.

The article argues that artificial intelligence is pervasive, complex, and often opaque, making it difficult for individuals to understand its influence on everyday life. It contends that existing digital and information literacy frameworks are insufficient for addressing the specific challenges posed by AI systems. To fill this gap, the authors introduce the concept of algorithmic literacy as a necessary extension of current literacy models. They outline a working definition of algorithmic literacy, explain why it is urgently needed, and propose pedagogical strategies for teaching it.