Abstract
We cannot pretend to educate young people for citizenship and political participation without teaching them to understand and use the new media, which are essential means of expressing ideas, forming public opinions, and building institutions and movements. But the challenge of media literacy education is serious. Students need advanced and constantly changing skills to be effective online. They must understand the relationship between the new media and social and political institutions, a topic that is little understood by even the most advanced social theorists. And they must develop motivations to use digital media for civic purposes, when no major institutions have incentives to motivate them. Until we address those challenges, students will struggle to make sense of the new media environment, let alone take constructive action.
Response to Article
Jeremy Stoddard, The Need for Media Education in Democratic Education
Recommended Citation
Levine, P.
(2015).
Media Literacy for the 21st Century. A Response to "The Need for Media Education in Democratic Education".
Democracy and Education,
23
(1), Article 15.
Available at:
https://democracyeducationjournal.org/home/vol23/iss1/15
Included in
Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons, Social Media Commons