The report provides a historical overview of the academic literature surrounding media literacy in both traditional broadcast and digital media environments, and identifies educational and other organisations involved in promoting media literacy in Australia and overseas. Key findings from the research are that:
Media literacy, whether in traditional or convergent media contexts, is important for being engaged in society. Effective use of media and communications services is increasingly a prerequisite to broader citizen engagement including access to essential services.
While the gap between ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ is narrowing in terms of access to information and communications technologies, there is evidence of a digital ‘use/literacy’ divide associated with socio-economic status, age, workforce participation and household type.
The promotion of media literacy is an important prerequisite to effective regulatory intervention designed to protect consumers, particularly for online and mobile services.
An important conclusion of the research is that preparing young people to deal confidently with a range of media in their education, social life or in the workforce should be an increasing focus of media literacy initiatives.