Media Literacy: Discussing Media Socialization, Agency, and the Appropriation of Media

Abstract

This thesis explores the socially and individually determined nature of media literacy. The central question is how the media activity of individuals, i.e. their media-related action and behaviour, can be explained and evaluated in terms of their media literacy, in the sense of confident and self-determined action when dealing with media. To answer this, it is necessary to consider media activity in the light of the relationships between the competence to act – the sum of a person’s abilities, skills and knowledge, and cognitive mastery of rules of conduct (moral rules, legal rules, and rules of prudence) – and performance, i.e. the actual actions of an individual. The aim of the present study is, on the one hand, to explore on a theoretical level the social factors that foster self-determined action in relation to media, including the necessary abilities and skills and the associated knowledge. On the other hand, these theoretical reflections are also applied empirically in the form of two studies. The first is a secondary analysis of a study on how adolescents approach top model shows, and on the everyday relevance of these formats for boys and girls. The second study presented is an extensive investigation into children and adolescents’ approach to the social web. This consists of a quantitative survey of the internet use or social web use of children, adolescents and young adults aged 10 to 30, and a qualitative subsample of fifty boys and girls aged 11 to 19.