Abstract
In this paper we examine what ‘data literacy’ – under various definitions – means at a time of persistent distribution of ‘dis-/mis-/mal-information’ via digital media. The paper first explores the definition of literacies (written, media, information, digital and data literacies) considering the various parameters and considerations they have gone through. We then examine the intersection of dis-/mis-/mal-information and ‘fake-news’ and these literacies. The paper explores what types of literacies are needed today and the important role of variations in citizens' social context. We highlight three main gaps in current data literacy frameworks – 1. going beyond the individual; 2. critical thinking of the online ecosystem; and 3. designing skills for proactive citizens. We discuss these gaps while highlighting how we integrated these into our survey of UK citizens' data literacies as part of our Nuffield Foundation funded project - Me and My Big Data. By discussing our theoretical and methodological challenges we aim to shed light on not only how the definition of data literacy changes but also how we can develop education programmes that take into account information distortions and put proactive citizens at the centre.
Highlights
Citizens' engagement with media and the ways in which they develop their agency have long been discussed through the lens of written, media and information or digital ‘literacy’
In the UK context, the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2017 (Cadwalladr, 2017), revealed that people received disinformation content and advertisements based on their social media profiles and activity, designed to influence their decisions on the 2016 UK Referendum to leave the European Union, and the 2016 US presidential election
In this paper we present the first phases of our project which includes mapping the media, data and digital literacy field in relation to ‘mis/dis/mal-information’ – building on longer-term discussions that have been made around media and literacies
Summary
Citizens' engagement with media and the ways in which they develop their agency have long been discussed through the lens of written, media and information or digital ‘literacy’. It is clear that this is part of a wider set of issues that need to be considered and that the current definitions of ‘data literacy’ (for example, Pangrazio and Selwyn, 2019) are not addressing the issue of mis/dis/mal-information These gaps in data literacies and their connection to disinformation, misinformation and malinformation are exactly what this paper is focusing on. We move to understand what types of challenges we face with dis- mis- and mal-information After this we discuss the politics and ideology behind literacy to set the discussion for the three gaps that we identified in the two fields and show how our survey and frameworks tackle them. Develop a definition of data literacy that accommodates contemporary media and communication developments
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