ERIC Number: EJ985656
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 2
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2167-8715
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
New Civic Voices & the Emerging Media Literacy Landscape
Mihailidis, Paul
Journal of Media Literacy Education, v3 n1 p4-5 2011
The recent protests across the Middle East, generally referred to as the largest civic uprising enabled by social media platforms and mobile technologies, are actively reshaping how one thinks about citizenship, community, and participation in the 21st Century. Within these new spaces have emerged voices--largely those of everyday citizens--that are exposing corruption, demanding accountability, and maintaining a diverse flow of ideas and dialogue across communities, across cultures, and across divides. This article discusses the implications for media literacy education in light of these new societal shifts largely in and by social media platforms and mobile technologies, and lists three specific challenges facing media literacy. The author concludes that media educators can no longer afford to sit back and simply teach about media messages as they come. It is high time that media literacy become the proactive movement that enables the future civic voices of democracies worldwide to create the meaningful dialog, collaborations, and struggles that will hold civic societies together. In this sense, media literacy in the 21st Century will be about enabling new civic voices, ones that are tolerant, purposive, and that are active in the face of the global challenges.
Descriptors: Media Literacy, Foreign Countries, Citizenship, Social Change, Social Networks, Influence of Technology, Educational Practices, Mass Media Effects, Mass Media Role, Mass Media Use, Change Strategies, Educational Change
National Association for Media Literacy Education. 10 Laurel Hill Drive, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003. Tel: 888-775-2652; e-mail: editor@jmle.org; Web site: http://www.jmle.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A