No Media literacy without civic literacy

Abstract

The article discusses the results of an empirical study that indicated commercial and social media use correlates with lower civic values and lower support for citizenship education fundamental to democratic citizenship. The research is based on original quantitative and qualitative research, conducted in 2024, that included 10 focus groups of 65 participants, and surveyed 2046 Australians, on their media habits, and civic attitudes. Our data revealed that those who use non-commercial media, such as public broadcasting (as opposed to commercial and social media) as their primary source of information are more likely to support teaching citizenship education in schools (41% to 32%) and are more committed to civic values. We argue for further commitment to citizenship education that would include the development of abilities to critically navigate news, as the main commercial platforms are structured in ways that are directly antithetical to civic values: they promote hyper-individualism and self-branding, engagement is privileged over accuracy; and the format is too short and fast for meaningful, civic deliberation.