How Media Literacy Supports Civic Engagement in a Digital Age

TLDR

Young people use the Internet in ways that may or may not foster civic engagement, and scholars disagree whether digital media alone suffices or whether media literacy education is required to scaffold such engagement. The study investigates how participation in a media literacy program, along with academic ability, Internet use, information‑seeking motives, and media analysis skills, relates to adolescents’ intention toward civic engagement. The authors surveyed 400 American high school students, measuring media literacy program participation, academic ability, Internet use frequency, information‑seeking motives, news and advertising analysis skills, and civic engagement intentions. Students in a selective‑admission media literacy program had higher media knowledge and news/advertising analysis skills; participation was positively linked to information‑seeking motives, media knowledge, and news analysis skills, all of which independently predicted adolescents’ intent toward civic engagement.

Abstract

Young people are making active use of the Internet in ways that may or may not contribute to civic engagement. Whereas some scholars believe that civic engagement arises naturally from digital media use, others believe that media literacy education is needed to provide the cognitive and social scaffolding that systematically supports civic engagement. Research with a sample of 400 American high school students explores the relationship between participation in a media literacy program, academic ability, frequency of Internet use, information-gathering motives, news and advertising analysis skills, and the intention toward civic engagement. Findings show that students in a selective-admission media literacy program have substantially higher levels of media knowledge and news and advertising analysis skills than other students. Participation in a media literacy program was positively associated with information-seeking motives, media knowledge, and news analysis skills. Moreover, information-seeking motives, media knowledge, and news analysis skills independently contributed to adolescents' intent toward civic engagement.