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Sonia Livingstone

April 29th, 2013

Media Literacy Update: What’s Changed and Why?

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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Sonia Livingstone

April 29th, 2013

Media Literacy Update: What’s Changed and Why?

0 comments

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

By Yin-Han Wang and Sonia Livingstone

On 23 April Ofcom published its 2013 Adults’ Media Use and Attitudes Report. The report reveals some – but only some – grounds for optimism in media literacy compared with our recent assessment based on Ofcom surveys from 2005 to 2011. And it raises some pressing questions about how media literacy can be further improved.

Increase in public/civic uses

The 2013 report suggests that weekly public/civic use of the internet rose substantially from 15% of UK adults in 2011 to 25% in 2012. This may be a matter of methodology (as the latest questionnaire added ‘looking at websites for news about, or events in your local area/ the local community’ to the activities previously asked about) but perhaps the UK public is genuinely widening its range of online activities to include civic information.

Room for improvement in health-related uses

The percentage of those who have ever used the internet for health information rose a little, from 68% in 2011 to 75% in 2012. Is the quarter of the population who never take up such an opportunity missing out? Unless one can be confident that they get necessary information in other ways, a strategy is needed to reach them.

Users are concerned about internet content and security

Users’ concerns about the internet remain higher than for TV, mobile phone, gaming and radio, with offensive/illegal content users’ main concern; and concerns about online security and fraud are also on the rise. Would greater efforts in regulation and/or raising media literacy improve users’ experience of navigating content online?

Good grasp of broadcast funding sources, but no improvement

Teenager on a computer
Understanding of funding sources and risks is not always in step with use.

Public understanding is good for the funding of BBC television (77%), commercial television (69%), BBC radio (63%) and commercial radio (62%). But there is little or even no rise since 2005. Surely everyone should understand the difference between licence fee and advertising? And if they don’t, how will they grasp how the internet is funded?

Grasp of search engines funding sources too low

Public understanding of the funding for search engines remains low (36%), though it is increasing slowly over time. Given public reliance on search engines for accessing information, this figure remains problematic.

Knowledge gap persists in making judgements about new websites

The proportion of people who make some form of judgement about a new website before entering personal information has increased slightly from 79% in 2011 to 81% in 2012. But those from lower socio-economic households are still the least likely to do this. Relatedly, in 2012, 60% of internet users understood that some search engine results may be unbiased but others are not (– a slight improvement from 57% in 2011). However, only the higher socio-economic group shows a stable improvement on this measure over time.

Indications of improved media literacy remain insufficient

Given the complex and fast-changing media environment, the rate of year-by-year improvement in individual measures of media literacy suggests that UK adults are only gaining media literacy very slowly – perhaps too slowly given the benefits to be obtained. Particularly concerning is the persistent knowledge gap in media literacy that leaves those from lower socio-economic groups at a relative disadvantage. Targeted efforts to promote media literacy remain vital if everyone is to benefit from the digital age.

photo credit: Gates Foundation via photopin cc

About the author

Sonia Livingstone

Sonia Livingstone OBE is Professor of Social Psychology in the Department of Media and Communications at LSE. Taking a comparative, critical and contextual approach, her research examines how the changing conditions of mediation are reshaping everyday practices and possibilities for action. She has published twenty books on media audiences, media literacy and media regulation, with a particular focus on the opportunities and risks of digital media use in the everyday lives of children and young people. Her most recent book is The class: living and learning in the digital age (2016, with Julian Sefton-Green). Sonia has advised the UK government, European Commission, European Parliament, Council of Europe and other national and international organisations on children’s rights, risks and safety in the digital age. She was awarded the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2014 'for services to children and child internet safety.' Sonia Livingstone is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, the British Psychological Society, the Royal Society for the Arts and fellow and past President of the International Communication Association (ICA). She has been visiting professor at the Universities of Bergen, Copenhagen, Harvard, Illinois, Milan, Oslo, Paris II, Pennsylvania, and Stockholm, and is on the editorial board of several leading journals. She is on the Executive Board of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety, is a member of the Internet Watch Foundation’s Ethics Committee, is an Expert Advisor to the Council of Europe, and was recently Special Advisor to the House of Lords’ Select Committee on Communications, among other roles. Sonia has received many awards and honours, including honorary doctorates from the University of Montreal, Université Panthéon Assas, the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, the University of the Basque Country, and the University of Copenhagen. She is currently leading the project Global Kids Online (with UNICEF Office of Research-Innocenti and EU Kids Online), researching children’s understanding of digital privacy (funded by the Information Commissioner’s Office) and writing a book with Alicia Blum-Ross called ‘Parenting for a Digital Future (Oxford University Press), among other research, impact and writing projects. Sonia is chairing LSE’s Truth, Trust and Technology Commission in 2017-2018, and participates in the European Commission-funded research networks, DigiLitEY and MakEY. She runs a blog called www.parenting.digital and contributes to the LSE’s Media Policy Project blog. Follow her on Twitter @Livingstone_S

Posted In: Media Literacy

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