Teenagers’ reflections on media literacy initiatives at school and everyday media literacy discourses

ABSTRACT Often coined as digital natives, contemporary teens are ascribed a paradoxical status of skilled but vulnerable media users. Therefore, media literacy initiatives often target young audiences in order to mitigate detrimental media effects as well as to facilitate emancipatory media engagements. The literature on media literacy draws from diverse disciplines (e.g. educational sciences, media studies) and examines a wide range of thematic areas (e.g. privacy, news, citizenship). However, the voices of those who are the target population of media literacy policy and research are seldom heard. We identify the absence of teenagers’ perceptions and experiences as a limitation in contemporary debates on media literacy. Therefore, this study aims to shed light on how teenagers give meaning to media literacy, how they perceive the contemporary discourse on the importance of media literacy for teens, and in which way they encounter concrete media literacy initiatives at school. Based on in-depth interviews with 31 high-school students between 16 and 18 year old, we found how teenagers primarily have a risk discourse in mind when talking about media literacy. Contextualizing these perceptions, it became clear that both the public discourse and media literacy initiatives largely draw from protectionist approaches. IMPACT SUMMARY a. Prior State of Knowledge: Teenagers and children are oftentimes seen as avid but vulnerable media users. Therefore, this demographic is often the target population of media literacy initiatives. Drawing from a wide range of disciplines, the field of media literacy aims to both understand and facilitate youth’s critical engagements with media. b. Novel Contributions: We identify the lack of a meaningful engagement with teenagers’ own conceptualizations of media literacy as a limitation in scholarly and policy debates. To address this, we contextualize how teenagers give meaning to media literacy by exploring their experiences with media literacy discourses and initiatives in secondary education. c. Practical Implications: This study has practical implications for policymakers who aim for an emancipatory approach of media literacy. Gaining insight into teenagers’ perceptions and experiences is paramount to move beyond the top-down development of media literacy initiatives. The results are also important for media literacy researchers because of its implications for future study designs.