Digital media literacy in Australia—Key indicators and research sources

Digital media literacy in Australia

Key indicators and research sources

June 2009

1

Digital medial literacy in Australia—Key indicators and research sources

© Commonwealth of Australia 2009

This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Commonwealth. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Manager, Communications and Publishing, Australian Communications and Media Authority, PO Box 13112 Law Courts, Melbourne VIC 8010.

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Australian Communications and Media Authorityi

Digital medial literacy in Australia—Key indicators and research sources

Table of contents

The regulatory dimensions of digital media literacy in complex communications environments

1. Comparative regulatory approaches to media literacy research

UK Office of Communications (Ofcom)

The European Commission

Ireland

New Zealand Broadcasting Services Authority (BSA)

Australia: ACMA

2. Information about digital media literacy in Australia

Digital Media Literacy Research Listing

3. Existing indicators of digital media literacy in Australia

Access to digital media services

Use and understanding of digital media platforms and services

Creation of digital content and services

4. Towards an evidence-based approach to digital media literacy in Australia

Data available on digital media literacy in Australia

Key sources

Australian Communications and Media Authorityi

Digital medial literacy in Australia—Key indicators and research sources

The regulatory dimensions of digital media literacyin complex communications environments

Digital media literacy has become one of the key competencies of the twenty-first century,with the effective use of media and communications services increasingly pivotal to citizen and consumer participation across the economy and society more generally.

While media literacy has been a topic of interest among educational providers for a number of years, it is now increasingly a priority for media and communications regulators seeking new regulatory tools that respond to complex communications environments.

There are essentially three key drivers of interest in media literacy among communications regulators:

  1. Widespread digitalisation of key services and industry sectors. The ability to use and interact with communications services in on-demand environments increasingly informs a person’s ability to participate in society and in the digital economy.
  2. Use of self- and co-regulatory approaches to communications regulation. By focusing on ‘tooling up’ users at an individual or community level, digital media literacy promotes the pivotal role that user choice and responsibility play in the new on-demand environment.
  3. A shift from a ‘digital divide’ towards a ‘digital use divide’ that responds to high levels of basic access to internet services. Digital participation is subsequently framed not just in terms of basic access to the internet but by the effective use of a range of media and communications platforms and services.

Regulatory interest has broadened the scope for research into and the promotion of digital media literacy beyond educational environments to include the range of consumer protection and promotion activities undertaken by a wide range of stakeholders across regulatory, industry and community contexts.

The role of ACMA in promoting digital media literacy

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) undertakesa range of activities that support or promote digital media literacy. ACMA recognises that the complexity of the changing communications and media environment requires new regulatory and program responses that:

  • prepare Australians to participate in a convergent communications environment where there is a choice of multiple devices and multiple distribution platforms;
  • assist Australians to understand the nature and characteristics of material made available by electronic communications and media and an understanding of how such material is or can be regulated; and
  • helps Australians to make informed judgements about their digital communications practices and manage their online security and privacy.

ACMA’s research into digital media literacy informs its activities in the following areas:

  • the provision of information and advice to the community about communications mattersby means of community awareness programs, including collaborating with other agencies to raise consumer awareness of products and services available to them;
  • delivery of a range of consumer awareness and protection programs around issues such as e-security and cybersafety which recognise a role for individuals to take greater responsibility in managing their use of digital media and communications; and
  • conducting research with the aim of developing a better understanding of Australian’s skills, knowledge and use of digital communications.

These activities reflect the Australian Government’s strategic priority on digital communications and enhanced participation in the digital economy, and the increasing relevance of digital and media literacy to social inclusion.

From ‘digital divides’ to ‘participation gaps’

Media literacy researchers have identified a ‘participation gap’ rather than a ‘digital divide’; elsewhere this has been described as a shift away from a ‘digital divide’ to a ‘digital use divide’. As an OECD April 2007 paperBroadband and ICT access and use by Households and Individuals has identified:

[A]s the digital divide declines a digital use divide is increasingly significant … This second level use divide beyond connectedness remains and is increasingly important with increasing broadband access … Technology use and learning play a vital role, and people’s background and socio-economic group have a direct bearing on how they use information technology and broadband in particular.[1]

The focus of much digital media literacy research is on identifying gaps in participation, including the groups and contexts that suffer from low levels of competency or trust in their use of digital communications. This not only limits their level and quality of access to digital services, but also represents a weakness of communications regulatory interventions which, for example, increasingly require users to be proactive in protecting their online activities from harm and actively participate in internet services.

Aim of paper

The regulatory importance of digital media literacy is increasingly recognised, however there remains a lack of consensus about appropriate measures of digital media literacy across adult populations. This paper aims to heighten awareness of the research issues associated with digital media literacy, specifically those of key interest to communications regulators. While the primary audience for the paper is those who are engaged in media literacy related research, ACMA recognises that there are many organisations and individuals actively involved in digital media literacy activities who may have views about the issues canvassed in the paper.

The paper includes:

  • an introduction to some of the comparative approaches to digital media literacy research adopted in regulatory and/or policy contexts;
  • a review of existing sources of research related to digital media literacy in Australia;
  • an assessment of key research indicators of digital media literacy currently available in Australia; and
  • an identification of current gaps and an outline of ACMA’s continuing research in this field.

Invitation to provide feedback

The paper invites feedback on the issues raised, with a view to:

  • expanding the review of existing sources of research related to digital media literacy;
  • identifying more important indicators of digital media literacy, including relevant technical and critical competencies;
  • increasing our knowledge of current research gaps; and
  • identifying areas for possible future research focus and new study.

How to comment

Specific comment and contribution is invited at page 20 of the paper, but views are also welcome on the general issues raised concerning research intodigital media literacy in Australia. Please email to provide feedback and comments. You may also like to contact Lesley Osborne on 02 9334 7837if you have any queries about the paper.Feedback on this paper is due by 31 July 2009.

1. Comparative regulatory approachesto media literacy research

The role of the regulator in digital media literacy

Digital media literacy policies recognise that traditional regulatory models which dealt with single service and single provider environments are less effective in converged communications and media environments where there is significant choice of platforms, service providers and content. Among other changes that will flow from this will be the more widespread implementation of co- and self-regulatory frameworks.

The broad approach being adopted in Australia and other jurisdictions (UK, the EU and New Zealand) to the promotion of media/digital literacy is that all sectors of society—the government, the media industry, civil society, and individuals—must act co-operatively to develop a safe and secure digital media environment. This has led to a growing interest by ACMA in understanding the way to which Australians are able to adopt and adapt to dynamic communications tools and platforms, and the means by which they acquire digital media literacy. Digital media literacy is seen by regulators as helping individuals and families to protect themselves from unwanted content and contact, while at the same time enabling them to benefit from opportunities offered by digital media and communications.

The particular expertise an industry regulator brings to the implementation and development of digital media literacy is in the key areas of:

  • research
  • facilitation of co-operation between stakeholders
  • protection—by exercise of adequate powers relating to the protection of the community.

This section introduces some of the comparative approaches to digital media literacy research adopted in regulatory and/or policy contexts across North America, Europe and Australasia.

Key regulatory agencies involved in media literacy activity to date include the UK Office of Communications (Ofcom), the New Zealand Broadcasting Services Authority (BSA) and the European Commission.The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) media literacy research program commenced in 2007. In North America, the Canadian Association of Media Education Organisations (CAMEO) and the US National Association for Media Literacy Education are active in promoting digital media literacy, however they are more focused on the education sector.

ACMA’s role in the field of media literacy was recognised in 2008 when it became a founding member of the International Media Literacy Research Forum, which also includes Ofcom, CAMEO, the Dublin Institute of Technology (Ireland), the New Zealand Broadcasting Standards Authority and the US National Association for Media Literacy Education.

In Australia, ACMA has links to a range of stakeholders active in digital media, including academic researchers, providers of consumer education and protection, schools education in relation to cybersafety, and cross jurisdictional policy makers, and is building a community of interest around digital media literacy issues.

A note on terminology and definitions

Regulatory agencies have adopted slightly different terms, ranging from ‘media literacy’, and ‘digital literacy’, to ‘digital media literacy’. ACMA shares the broad understanding of media literacy which has been accepted in the UK and Europe. Within this understanding, ACMA has adopted the term ‘digital media literacy’ reflecting ACMA’s regulatory responsibilities in relation to digital media and communications, and the policy interest of the Australian Government to encourage participation in the digital economy.

Media literacy or digital media literacy is also subject to different definitions or interpretations. Examples of definitions adopted include:

  • the ability to understand and use information in multiple formats from a wide range of sources when it is presented via computers (Gilster);[2]
  • the skills, knowledge and understanding that allow consumers to use media effectively and safely (European Commission); and
  • the ability to access, understand and create communications in a variety of contexts (Ofcom2004).

More recently Ofcom has proposed a new definition of media literacy as:

  • the ability to use, understand and create media and communications(Ofcom, 2009).[3]

By replacing ‘access’ with ‘use’, this new definition explicitly covers both access to technology and to content, while including the term ‘media’ ensures a broad understanding of audio visual and online content including email, social networking, and other written texts. At the same time Ofcom also recognised digital media literacy as a subset of skills related to the effective use and understanding of digital media and communications, and defined as:

  • the ability to use, understand and create digital media and communications (Ofcom, 2009)

Different definitions of media literacy and digital media literacy also reflect different policy and educational agendas. For example, advocates of media literacy in educational contexts have tended tounderline the importance of critical interpretive skills needed to decipher media content and media messages, whereas contemporary regulatory concern with digital media literacy places relatively more importance on the technical competencies needed to make effective use of digital media services across a range of communications platforms.

ACMA has not adopted a separate definition of digital media literacy, however ACMAoften describesdigital media literacy as the skills and capabilities needed for effective participation in the digital economy.

UK Office of Communications (Ofcom)

Under theCommunications Act 2003 Ofcom is required to ‘bring about a better public understanding of the nature and characteristics of material published by means of electronic media’.

In progressing media literacy, Ofcom has aimed to act as a catalyst for a range of stakeholders across government, education, the voluntary sector and the communications industry to build effective strategies to promote media literacy in the community.

In a December 2008 review of its Media Literacy Programme 2004–08, Ofcom outlined two objectives of its work on media literacy:

  1. to give people the opportunity and motivation to develop competence and confidence to participate in digital society; and
  2. to inform and empower people to manage their own media activity (both consumption and creation).

Media literacy research progressed by Ofcom has involved two major national audits focused on primary data collection covering levels of access, understanding and creation of media services. These audits reflect evolutions in media literacy research.

In its first 2006 audit of media literacy in the UK, Ofcom looked at eight key elements of media literacy:

  1. interest in digital features (TV, radio, internet, mobile phones)
  2. awareness of features of interest for those interested in features
  3. volume of usage per week
  4. breadth of usage
  5. competence for tasks of interest
  6. level of concern
  7. knowledge of industry funding/regulation
  8. trust in various platforms as source of news.

In 2008, OFCOM published the second wave of its media literacy audit based on fieldwork undertaken in 2007. This audit demonstrates advances in the way media literacy measures are used:

  • ‘access’ includes not only take-up of media devices, but also volume and breadth of use;
  • ‘understand’ includes interest and competence in using the features available on each platform, extent and levels of concern about content, trust in internet sites, trust in news, and knowledge of regulation and funding sources; and
  • ‘create’ includes people’s confidence in engaging with creative content, and their interest in carrying out creative tasks, notably using social networking sites.

Ofcom has also recently released a report on citizens’ digital participationwhich explores the role of the internet as an enabler of digital participation.[4] This research provides evidence on the level of engagement in citizen participation and types of activities undertaken among the general population to understand if participation levels were different among those with internet access. It found the great majority of the UK population have taken part in some type of citizen participation (90 per cent in total, 75 per cent in the last year), and that the internet was an enabler of citizen participation.

The European Commission

The European Commission hasbeen active in promoting media literacy among member states since 2000. The European Commission promotes media literacy as one of the key prerequisites of full and active citizenship in a digital age, describing media literacy as ‘the ability of people to critically analyse what they find in the media and to make more informed choices’.

The European Commission advances the media literacy agenda through a number of regulatory instruments. TheAudiovisual Media Services Directive (AMSD) of May 2007[5]requires the Commission to report on the levels of media literacy in all MemberStates from December 2011 and every three years thereafter.The AMSD explicitly promotes the need for close monitoring of media literacy levels through research:

Media literacy refers to the “skills, knowledge and understanding that allow consumers to use media effectively and safely. Media-literate people will be able to exercise informed choices, understand the nature of content and services and take advantage of the full range of opportunities offered by new communications technologies. They will be better able to protect themselves and their families from harmful or offensive material. Therefore thedevelopment of media literacy in all sections of society should be promoted and its progress followed closely”.[6]

In December 2007 the European Commission adopted a European Approach to Media Literacy in the Digital environment,[7]which encouragesresearch into criteria for assessing media literacy as a first step towards theMember Statesbeing able to meet theirreporting obligations under the AMSD. The Communication describes a number of specific functional, critical and cultural competencies associated with media literacy, incorporating traditional literacy skills (reading and writing), audiovisual skills and digital literacy skills. It has since published a tender for the study of criteria to access media literacy levels across the EU Member States but as at April 2009 has not reported on outcomes. The Commission also pursues digital media research as part of its commitment made in the Ministerial Riga Declaration on eInclusion of June 2006.[8]