The effectiveness of digital communication strategies in enhancing media literacy in the digital era: a quantitative study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64268/jllm.v1i01.2Keywords:
Digital Communication Strategy;, Media Literacy;, Digital Participation;, Social Media Algorithms;, Digital SocietyAbstract
Background: Media literacy is crucial in the digital era, yet many still struggle to critically engage with online content. Traditional approaches are insufficient to address challenges like disinformation and algorithmic bias. This study explores the effectiveness of digital strategies such as gamification and interactive campaigns in improving media literacy in Indonesia.
Aim: This study aims to examine the effectiveness of digital communication strategies in enhancing media literacy in the digital era. The background of this research lies in the growing urgency to address misinformation, disinformation, and the public's limited critical capacity when facing digital information, particularly among active social media users.
Method: A quantitative approach with an explanatory survey design was employed, involving 300 respondents from three major cities in Indonesia. The research instrument was an online questionnaire consisting of scales on digital communication strategy and media literacy, validated by experts and tested for reliability, yielding a Cronbach’s Alpha value of 0.87. Data analysis was performed using simple linear regression via SPSS version 26.
Result: The results indicate that digital communication strategies have a positive and significant effect on media literacy levels (B = 0.531; p < 0.000; R² = 0.282). Participatory and educational digital communication strategies significantly improve users’ ability to recognize, evaluate, and respond critically to information. These findings support the new media literacy model, which emphasizes user engagement, algorithmic awareness, and understanding of the digital information production structure.
Conclusion: This research offers practical implications for the development of media literacy policies and the design of more effective, inclusive, and adaptive digital communication strategies tailored to the dynamics of the digital society.
References
Ally, M., & Prieto-Blázquez, J. (2014). Quin és el futur de l’aprenentatge mòbil en l’educació? RUSC. Revista de Universidad y Sociedad Del Conocimiento, 11(1), 142. https://doi.org/10.7238/rusc.v11i1.2033
Ashley, S., Maksl, A., & Craft, S. (2013). Developing a News Media Literacy Scale. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1077695812469802
Aufderheide, P. (1993). Media Literacy. A Report of the National Leadership Conference on Media Literacy. Aspen Institute, Communications and Society Program, 1755 Massachusetts Avenue, N. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED365294
Binns, R., Van Kleek, M., Veale, M., Lyngs, U., Zhao, J., & Shadbolt, N. (2018). “It’s Reducing a Human Being to a Percentage”: Perceptions of Justice in Algorithmic Decisions. Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1145/3173574.3173951
Boulianne, S. (2015). Social media use and participation: A meta-analysis of current research. Information, Communication & Society, 18(5), 524–538. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1008542
Buckingham, D. (2007). Digital Media Literacies: Rethinking Media Education in the Age of the Internet. Research in Comparative and International Education, 2(1), 43–55. https://doi.org/10.2304/rcie.2007.2.1.43
Chen, Y.-R. R., & Schulz, P. J. (2016). The Effect of Information Communication Technology Interventions on Reducing Social Isolation in the Elderly: A Systematic Review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 18(1), e18. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.4596
Cortesi, S., Hasse, A., Lombana-Bermudez, A., Kim, S., & Gasser, U. (2020). Youth and Digital Citizenship+ (Plus): Understanding Skills for a Digital World (SSRN Scholarly Paper No. 3557518). Social Science Research Network. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3557518
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (n.d.). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches.
Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R., & Nacke, L. (2011). From game design elements to gamefulness: Defining “gamification.” Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media Environments, 9–15. https://doi.org/10.1145/2181037.2181040
Frau-Meigs, D, & Velez, I.,. (2020). Media and Information Literacy: Reinforcing Human Rights, Countering Radicalization and Extremism. UNESCO.
Fuchs, C. (2014). Social Media: A Critical Introduction. SAGE Publications Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446270066
Ghosh, D., & Scott, B. (2022). Digital media literacy and algorithmic awareness: Emerging trends and challenges. Media and Communication, 10(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v10i1.4513
Grunig, J. E., & Hunt, T. (1984). Managing public relations. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003574033-12/public-relations-management-government-business-james-grunig
Hallahan, K., Holtzhausen, D., Van Ruler, B., Verčič, D., & Sriramesh, K. (2007). Defining Strategic Communication. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 1(1), 3–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/15531180701285244
Hamari, J., Koivisto, J., & Sarsa, H. (2014). Does Gamification Work? -- A Literature Review of Empirical Studies on Gamification. 2014 47th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 3025–3034. https://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2014.377
Hobbs, R. (2010). Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action. A White Paper on the Digital and Media Literacy Recommendations of the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy. Aspen Institute. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED523244
Jenkins, H., Ford, S., & Green, J. (2013). Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture. NYU Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qfk6w
Kahne, J., & Bowyer, B. (2017). Educating for Democracy in a Partisan Age: Confronting the Challenges of Motivated Reasoning and Misinformation. American Educational Research Journal, 54(1), 3–34. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831216679817
Kellner, D., & Share, J. (2005). Toward Critical Media Literacy: Core concepts, debates, organizations, and policy. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 26(3), 369–386. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596300500200169
Kent, M. L., & Taylor, M. (2002). Toward a dialogic theory of public relations. Public Relations Review, 28(1), 21–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0363-8111(02)00108-X
Kietzmann, J. H., Hermkens, K., McCarthy, I. P., & Silvestre, B. S. (2011). Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media. Business Horizons, 54(3), 241–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.005
Koltay, T. (2011). The media and the literacies: Media literacy, information literacy, digital literacy. Media, Culture & Society, 33(2), 211–221. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443710393382
Kozyreva, A., Lewandowsky, S., & Hertwig, R. (2020). Citizens Versus the Internet: Confronting Digital Challenges With Cognitive Tools. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 21(3), 103–156. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100620946707
Lazer, D. M. J., Baum, M. A., Benkler, Y., Berinsky, A. J., Greenhill, K. M., Menczer, F., Metzger, M. J., Nyhan, B., Pennycook, G., Rothschild, D., Schudson, M., Sloman, S. A., Sunstein, C. R., Thorson, E. A., Watts, D. J., & Zittrain, J. L. (2018). The science of fake news. Science, 359(6380), 1094–1096. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aao2998
Lee, H., Lim, J.-A., & Nam, H.-K. (2022). Effect of a Digital Literacy Program on Older Adults’ Digital Social Behavior: A Quasi-Experimental Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19), 12404. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912404
Lievrouw, L., & Livingstone, S. (2010). Handbook of New Media: Social Shaping and Social Consequences of ICTs, Updated Student Edition. SAGE Publications Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446211304
Livingstone, S., Haddon, L., Görzig, A., & Ólafsson, K. (2010). Full findings from the EU Kids Online survey of UK 9-16 year olds and their parents.
Livingstone, S., & Helsper, E. (2007). Gradations in digital inclusion: Children, young people and the digital divide. New Media & Society, 9(4), 671–696. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444807080335
Livingstone, S., Stoilova, M., & Kelly, A. (2018). The datafication of childhood: Examining children’s and parents’ data practices, rights and awareness. London School of Economics and Political Science.
Lovejoy, K., & Saxton, G. D. (2012). Information, Community, and Action: How Nonprofit Organizations Use Social Media*. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 17(3), 337–353. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2012.01576.x
Macnamara, J., & Zerfass, A. (2012). Social Media Communication in Organizations: The Challenges of Balancing Openness, Strategy, and Management. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 6(4), 287–308. https://doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2012.711402
Martens, H., & Hobbs, R. (2015). How Media Literacy Supports Civic Engagement in a Digital Age. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 23(2), 120–137. https://doi.org/10.1080/15456870.2014.961636
Mihailidis, P., & Viotty, S. (2017). Spreadable Spectacle in Digital Culture: Civic Expression, Fake News, and the Role of Media Literacies in “Post-Fact” Society. American Behavioral Scientist, 61(4), 441–454. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764217701217
Milan, S., & Treré, E. (2020). The Rise of the Data Poor: The COVID-19 Pandemic Seen From the Margins. Social Media + Society, 6(3), 2056305120948233. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120948233
Navarro-Pablo, M., López-Gándara, Y., & García-Jiménez, E. (2019). The use of digital resources and materials In and outside the bilingual classroom. Comunicar, 27(59), 83–93. https://doi.org/10.3916/C59-2019-08
Nick Couldry & Andreas Hepp. (2017). The Mediated Construction of Reality | Wiley. Polity Press. https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Mediated+Construction+of+Reality-p-9780745681306
Pangrazio, L. (2016). Reconceptualising critical digital literacy. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 37(2), 163–174. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2014.942836
Pangrazio, L., & Sefton-Green, J. (2021). Digital Rights, Digital Citizenship and Digital Literacy: What’s the Difference? Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, 10(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.7821/naer.2021.1.616
Pangrazio, L., & Selwyn, N. (2020). Towards a school-based “critical data education. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 28(3), 329–349.
Paul Mihailidis. (2018). Civic media literacies: Re-Imagining engagement for civic intentionality*: Learning, Media and Technology: Vol 43, No 2. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439884.2018.1428623
Paul Mihailidis & Benjamin Thevenin. (2013, May 31). Media Literacy as a Core Competency for Engaged Citizenship in Participatory Democracy—Paul Mihailidis, Benjamin Thevenin, 2013. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0002764213489015
Rasi, P., Vuojärvi, H., & Ruokamo, H. (2021). Media literacy and digital citizenship in the age of digital transformations. Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy, 16(1), 6–19.
Ribble, M., Bailey, G., & Ross, T. (2011). Digital citizenship in schools: Nine elements all students should know. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340468314_Digital_Citizenship_in_Schools_Second_Edition
Rosidi, A., & Cahyadi, A. (n.d.). Digital literacy among Indonesian students: Assessing the role of ICT in education. Journal of Education and Learning, 11(2), 150–160.
Scolari, C. A. (2018). eens, media and collaborative cultures: Exploiting teens’ transmedia skills in the classroom. Springer.
Shin, D., & Park, Y. J. (2019). Role of fairness, accountability, and transparency in algorithmic affordance. Computers in Human Behavior, 98, 277–284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.04.019
Tandoc, E. C., Jenkins, J., & Craft, S. (2021). Fake news as a critical literacy issue. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 76(1), 91–96.
Tandoc, E. C., Lim, Z. W., & Ling, R. (2018). Defining “Fake News”: A typology of scholarly definitions. Digital Journalism, 6(2), 137–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2017.1360143
UNESCO. (2021). Media and Information Literacy curriculum for teachers: A global resource. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000377063
Valentini, C. (2015). Is using social media “good” for the public relations profession? A critical reflection. Public Relations Review, 41(2), 170–177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.11.009
van der Linden, S., Roozenbeek, J., Maertens, R., & Compton, J.,. (n.d.). Inoculating against fake news about COVID-19. Frontiers in Psychology, 13.
van Driel, I. I., Tsai, W. H. S., & Yang, J. (n.d.). Social media and youth well-being: What we know and where we need to go. Urrent Opinion in Psychology, 44, 93–97.
Vraga, E. K., & Tully, M. (2021). News literacy, social media behaviors, and skepticism toward information on social media. Information, Communication & Society, 24(2), 150–166. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2019.1637445
Wardle, C., & Derakhshan, H. (2017). Information Disorder Toward an Interdisciplinary Framework for Research and Policymaking. Council of Europe. - References—Scientific Research Publishing. https://www.scirp.org/reference/referencespapers?referenceid=3238110
Xie, B., Charness, N., Fingerman, K., Kaye, J., Kim, M. T., & Khurshid, A. (2020). When Going Digital Becomes a Necessity: Ensuring Older Adults’ Needs for Information, Services, and Social Inclusion During COVID-19. Journal of Aging & Social Policy, 32(4–5), 460–470. https://doi.org/10.1080/08959420.2020.1771237
Zamith, R. (2019). Quantified audiences in news production: A synthesis and research agenda. Digital Journalism, 7(3), 339–355. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2018.1503060
Zeng, B., & Gerritsen, R. (2014). What do we know about social media in tourism? A review. Tourism Management Perspectives, 10, 27–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2014.01.001
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Santi Widyawati, Binti Khoiriyah
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
