NEW SOCIAL ECOLOGY AND THE NEED FOR NEW MEDIA LITERACY

Transcription

1 NEW SOCIAL ECOLOGY AND THE NEED FOR NEW MEDIA LITERACY IFLA Presidents s Meeting 3-5 June 2015 İstanbul Prof.Dr. Mutlu Binark Hacettepe University Faculty of Communication Dept. of Informatics and Information Technologies binark@hacettepe.edu.tr, mutlubinark@protonmail.ch

2 Outline of the presentation The new phenomenons The problematics The positive developments in Turkey Why we need the techo-social policy for new media literacy? and the necessity of the multistakeholder approach the components of the new media literacy what is new media literacy the solution actors

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8 The New Phenomenons New social eco-system Networked publics (boyd) Being connected and mobile (Hinton & Hjörth) Persistence-visibility-spreadability and searchability Interactivity Personalization and content creation Increase of user-generated content participatory culture (Jenkins), citizen journalism, trolling, homophiliy, hate speech, immaterial labour and commercializaion, big data and data mining-data sorting Self-mass communication (Castells) Self-mass surveillance (Fuchs)

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11 Some problematics Digital divide (See Table 1) only access does not solve the digital divide: there is a literacy divide such as technical skills, knowledge skills etc. Moral panic as a hegemonic discourse and stigmatization of the social media Livingstone asks that Can online risks really be more dangerous than offline risks? Pasive usage EU Kids online research highlights that most children approach online opportunities in a more passive way for information, playing games and entartainment purposes. Quality of the content production Unidimensinality of the usage practices Users re being used as digital free labor by the software industries exp. by search engines and social media sites

12 Table 1: TSI, Survey on the ICT Usage in Households (2014) ICT Usage in Enterprises Computer Usage Internet Access Having Website ICT Usage in Households and Individuals Computer Usage (Total) 53,5 Male 62,7 Female 44,3 Internet Usage (Total) 53,8 Male 63,5 Female 44,1 Households with access to the Internet 60,2

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14 Some Positive Developments in Turkey Increase of production of UGC since Gezi Park protests such as memes, videos, etc. Rise of citizen journalism and establishment of indepenent news portals i.e. 140 Journos, Dokuz8/Nine8, Ankara Eylem vakti, Seyri-Sokak, Çapul.tv Rise of info on the usage of VPN, tor and torrent since the recent bans Constitutional Court s recent decisions on Internet bans as a violation of human rights, and unblock Twitter and YouTube to protect free speech and right to access information Organizing a workshop among academicians and other stake holders to work on new media literacy in every level in April, 11, 2014 with the Unicef Turkiye Some micro level research (Binark & Bayraktutan; Arslan-Ye Yeğen& en& Binark; Asrak- Hasdemir &Uzun; Arslan-Ye Yeğen, en, Akça-Koca, Sayımer &Balabanlı) Organizing Internet Ungovernance Forum during IGF2014 by the collobaration of global and local NGOs leaded with Alternative Informatics Association See: Declaration of the 2nd National New Media Studies Conference February 27th 2015, Prepared by Alternative Informatics Association, at the 2nd National New Media Studies Conference, held in Kadir Has University, İstanbul See:

15 Figure 1. Direniş - Devrim 27 June 2013 ( Figure 2. Çapulcu check list 9 June 2013 ((

16 The necessity for the techo-social policy for the new media literacy Inequalites of using digital skills among women and elder people Needs to aware of the value creation through the software algorithms Siva Vaidhyanathan notes in The Googlization of Everything we are not Google customers:we are its product (2011:3) Users are actually the source of value creation (meta) (Terranova, Fisher, Fuchs) See:Julian Assange When Google Meets Wikileaks (2014)

17 Components of New Media Literacy In her study Internet Literacy, Young People s Negotiation of New Online Opportunities, Livingstone highlights three main dimensions of new media literacy: First, literacy is a form of knowledge. Second, literacy is a situated form of knowing that bridges individual skill and social practices. Thirdly, literacy comprises a set of culturally regulated competences encompassing both that which is normatively valued and that which is disapproved or transgressive (2008: 106).

18 Components of New Media Literacy II Hobbs explains the components of digital and media literacy as follows:

19 Components of New Media Literacy III In the Mark Day School and Media Education Lab s Report for Digital Learning Horoscope lists the components as below:

20 Components of New Media Literacy IV Brian O Neill from Dublin Institute of Technology suggests that digital citizenship be developed instead of restricting the use of new media: In our opinion, to guarantee safe and quality use of the Internet, it necessary to do the following: to introduce legislation ensuring the security of personal data and preventing the violation of privacy, to support new media where quality information sources are widely accessible rather than useless information and excessive commercials, to raise awareness among people of all ages against all offensive content and hate speech on the Internet. The way to fulfill all these targets is new media literacy, which is a pedagogic policy/solution.

21 Components of New Media Literacy V Kellner and Share link (media and new) literacy is a necessary condition for the democracy as follows: when education begins with this understanding of the social construction of knowledge, the literacy process can expand critical cal inquiry into multiple forms of information and communication, including tv.. and other modes of media culture, the Internet, advertising, artifcial intelligence, biotechnology, and of course, books. Literacy is thus a necessary condition to equip people to t participate in democracy, for without an educated, informed, and literate citizenry, strong democracy is impossible. Moreover, there are crucial links betwen literacy, democracy, empowerment, and social participation in politics and everyday life. Hence, without developing adequate literacies,, differences between haves and haves not cannot be overcome, and individuals and groups will be left out the emerging global economy, networked society, and culture (2007: 19).

22 What is a new media literacy? I New media literacy requires that one has the knowledge and skills to use new media as well as is aware of affordances and potential risks presented by new media. In addition, as part of new media literacy, citizens need to develop attitudes to deploy new media from an ethical and right-based perspective. New media is not just a technical or pedagogical matter. Rather, it is a political stance, which aims to establish active and participatory citizenship, democratic and pluralist social and political system and a communicative platform that is free from prejudice and hatred. In this sense, new media literacy is a multidimensional and multi-party process situated at the center of many disciplines, concerns, individuals and institutions.

23 What is a new media literacy? II new media literacy is an attempt to gain awareness with respect to the protection of information voluntarily digitally produced by individuals against political and commercial interests. At the same time, it plays a fundamental role with respect to the formation and maintenance of a communication environment free from pressure, censorship and surveillance measures. need to empower techno-social informatics policy within the context of freedom of expression and information, presented by the former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression Frank La Rue, in his annual report to UN Human Rights Council in 2011 (A/HRC/17/27 Geneva:OHCHR, 16 May, 2011) Not limited to these, new media literate citizens question alienated relationships with technology, specifically new media technologies and aims to replace this relationship with curiosity, creativity, production and criticism. New media literacy can be implemented through macro and micro politics and contributes to the citizens ability to have power over their everyday lives and political decisions. It is comprised of liberatory practices that create alternative forms of communication and spaces, as well as promoting free software. We need to think of this concept and literature on new media literacy as part of education policies in general, integrate with each phase of education, and nationally popularize on every age level.

24 What is a new media literacy? III Departing from the understanding that technology does not have a political mind on its own and constitutes a realm of hegemonic struggle for political interests, new media literacy is constructed as a political tool in the fight against digital divide of all kinds. It needs to be a political tool for struggling against all kinds of generational, regional, cultural divides across identity, socieatal and class lines.

25 Andmore need to develop the awareness raising of privacy advocacy need to train in being critical of the content that we consume need to develop open ethics among different stake holders to listen the voice of children and young people as a natural part of the stakeholders, assesing the chldren rights in regarded with Convention on the Rights of the Child need to develop the politics of resistance in everyday life (i.e. not giving up info, self-disclosure etc.) need to develop transparent policy making need to careful on using digital native discourse because of deemphasizing the learning and skill development Indeed there is a need for lifelong learning in the era of new media need more macro level and micro level research!

26 For the solution who are the actors? Solution Actors Family Friends School University Media NGOs Technosocial policy makers Conventional and new media professionals Legislative Body Judicial Body Executive Body

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28 For pictures: Thanxs for Gözde Çoklu, Doruk Koçak