| Summary: | Can media literacy education promote and improve youth engagement in civic and political life? Unfortunately, to date, there have been almost no quantitative assessments of the frequency of media literacy education, nor of any possible subsequent impacts. This study draws on a unique panel data set of a diverse group of youths in high school and college settings. It finds that exposure to media literacy education is not strongly related to demographic variables. In addition, with controls for prior levels of online political activities, for political interest, and for a broad range of demographic variables, this study also finds that digital media literacy education is associated with increased online political engagement and increased exposure to diverse perspectives. There is a stark contrast between youths' participation with new media and their civic and political participation. When judged by traditional standards, levels of civic and political commitment, capacity, and activity by youths are the lowest of all demographic groups, and until recently, have also been declining Paul Mihailidis, Eszter Hargittai, the editors, and the anonymous reviewers also provided very helpful feedback. Of course, despite all this help, we take full responsibility for our analysis and conclusions. such as social media, blogging, video games, and smart phones (see Engagement with new media has the potential to strengthen young people's participation in civic and political life. Educators, policymakers, foundations, and others are considering ways to develop desirable bridges between these two domains (for examples, see the National Broadband Plan [2010], the Center for Media Literacy, and the National Association for Media Literacy Education). The present study represents one of the first efforts to assess quantitatively both the frequency and distribution of digital media literacy activities in high schools and post-secondary settings, as well as whether such activities can increase the likelihood that youth will engage with ...
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