Abstract
Developments in communication technologies have given rise to the fact that media will increasingly acquire more space in daily life. This increase in media access area causes the expansion of its effect domain. Studies on the problem of media and its effects have led to the understanding that media are considered as dangerous in the socialization process of children and young people. This tendency has also put academics working in the field of sociology, communication sciences, and pedagogy into a state of control orientation. This field, which is the product these tendencies and called media literacy, has expanded, and new literacy models have emerged depending on the media content. One of these new approaches in media literacy is advertising literacy. Studies done on advertising literacy so far are too little in quantity. However, on the qualitative aspect, these studies have shortcomings that stem from the fact that they overlook media digitization.
TopIntroduction
Advertisements have become a part of everyday life, increasingly. Each individual who has been seen as a consumer or a potential consumer is in a situation surrounded with the advertisement messages. To gain the abilities such as understand, evaluate, comment and / or analyse these messages seem possible if and only with gaining the advertising literacy ability by the consumer / potential consumer. The importance of media literacy and the necessary of the education on this subject is undeniable. And there have been many studies about this subject. On the other hand, advertising literacy has seen as one of the relatively neglected area. In his article that he had wrote in 2010, Nando Malmelin had also pointed out to bewildering paucity of the studies about this subject, while he was defining of advertising literacy and drawing it's frame. There are some studies, researches and modellings about advertising literacy, which accepting the advertising literacy as an integrative part of media literacy, of the scientists such as Silverblatt (1995), Potter (1998), Mattelart (1991), Ritson and Elliot (1999), O'donohoe and Tynan (1998). These studies and modellings had been defined as early stage of developments by Malmelin and he emphasized the necessary of studies more comprehensive (Malmelin, 2010: p. 130). Also, in the mentioned time, it is observed that the these studies have been written about specific subjects such as relationship between advertising and obesity, ingame advertising and children's consuming behaviours, etc. However, in recent years, the number and scope of the studies and publishings have increased, especially in the second decade of 2000’s. On the one hand, digital media has gained prevalence (with regard to usage rate and diversity); on the other hand, the point of view taking the children as the main target audience of advertising literacy education has changed.
The possibility of content production provided by Web 2.0 technology to ordinary internet users has changed many approaches in the media context. Thus, with a profile that can be created in a very short time, users have an identity in the virtual world. The change proceeds at an incredibly fast dimension. The structure of technologies such as Web 3.0, 4.0 and even recently discussed Web 5.0, including artificial intelligence; as well as applications carried out through wearable technologies, systems that bring human reality to a whole new dimension, such as AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality), and similar applications have taken the interaction between the internet and human to a different dimension. This aspect of the Internet, which changed with the 2000s, has been an important transformation point not only for users but also for advertising producers. At this point, the effect-based hierarchical theoretical structure, which was formed from the triangle of perception, attitude and behavior, which is the subject of advertising in the traditional media, has been replaced by a theoretical structure of different concepts and phenomena.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Advertising Literacy: Understanding and interpreting what advertising messages say, what they want us to do, and what they actually want to say. In addition to knowing the advertising industry and its commercial characteristics; comment and produce ideas in this direction.
Awareness of Privacy: To know how the data collected about us through digital communication technologies can be used against us as a consumer. To be aware of the existing methods to protect from this situation.
Online Learning: To be able to perform learning action through digital platforms.
Digital Advertising Literacy: To be able to perceive and interpret advertising messages mediated in digital media. To be able to recognize digital advertisements in different formats.
Digital Natives: A concept created by Marc Prensky for individuals born in a technology-intensive environment in the 1980s and beyond, who can easily adapt to technology.
Producing Content: Content generating. The ability of ordinary users to produce, save and share content through Web 2.0 technology.
Digital Immigrants: A concept created by Marc Prensky for individuals born before the 1980s and unable to adapt to technological advances as quickly as digital natives.
Media Literacy: To be able to understand and interpret media messages, as well as to access different sources of information in order to obtain accurate information. At the same time, to understand the functioning of media institutions, working conditions and their place in the social system.
Personalization: With the development of digital technologies, the data we leave in the digital world is collected by advertising manufacturers and the advertising messages are tailored to the personal preferences of the user.