Abstract
Since the new generation called “digital natives” uses digital media extensively more than the traditional media, the necessity of the evolution of the traditional media literacy to digital media literacy has emerged. The traditional media literacy courses, which are based on the examination of television and newspaper contents, cannot be effective in the media education of youngsters who are surrounded by digital media. Recent research reveals that TV watching hours have decreased among youngsters but online video watching and computer game playing times have increased rapidly. In this study, in-depth interviews were conducted with the parents of 12 elementary school students, and the study aimed to reveal the necessity of digital media literacy. In-depth interviews were conducted with the parents, and media usage times of the students, their state of being influenced by media, and their purposes of using digital media in their daily lives were all examined, and as a result, the necessity of the evolution of traditional media literacy to digital media literacy will be discussed.
TopBackground
As Negroponte (1996) stated, mass media has been redefined with customized information and attractions. The new media is seen as an important socialization medium because it gathers different ethnic and cultural groups. Thanks to the interactivity feature of digital media, which was indicated before, discussion groups, forums, blogs, e-mail and instant messaging are the possibilities. Thus, we can remark that digital media is a new tool of socialization. The spectator/user can reach their own culture and personal experience to many people. In this regard, the rooted structure of mass communication should be thought again, and this reveals the necessity of media literacy to undergo a change for the new users who have become individual producers.
The transformation process of new information and communication in the digital media literacy education should be properly understood, and students should be made to understand this transformation. In our day, the borders of education and entertainment have started to get fuzzy. The computer is seen as the basic time spending tool and people generally use it for entertainment purposes. Families hope that their children study with their computers in their rooms. However, computers are generally used for entertainment purposes. At the times when people spent their spare times in the living room, this used to contribute to education as well. Television and computers have dispossessed the educator task of families. At the present time, interactive media has caused that these social relationships have become blurred. Digital media literacy should focus on how children and parents will use this new system and turn it into an active learning system. Learning processes should be adapted to modern day (Livingstone, 2002: 215-216).
As Area and Pessoa stated, digital literacy is defined as the person, as an independent citizen, creating an identity for himself/herself with democratic values (Area & Pessoa, 2012: 17).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Digital Native: The concept of digital native was firstly used in his article “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” by Marc Prensky in 2001. It tells the people who were born after the digitalization process.
Cyber Bullying: It comprises all the moves in the electronic media that are executed by using force or threatening people, therefore, making people feel bad.
Pro-Consumers: It includes the users who both produce contents and consumes them thanks to the digital media opportunities of the twenty-first century.
Digital Media Literacy: It is possible to define digital media literacy as the changing of the new communication technology experiences and adapting media literacy to digital media literacy education that functions for youngsters to accommodate themselves to the digital media usage process.
Digital: Digital usually refers to something using digits, particularly binary digits.
Digital Immigrant: The concept of digital immigration was firstly used in his article “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” by Marc Prensky in 2001. It tells the people who were born before the digitalization process.
Media Literacy: Media literacy is defined as the competencies of reaching messages of different forms, analyzing these messages, evaluating them and delivering them.
Hypertext: Hypertext is the feature that enables extensive knowledge when clicked on an online text.