Media and Digital Literacy: Cultivating Critical Thinking in the Digital Age

Abstract

Modern trends in media and digital education focus on fostering critical analytical thinking, allowing media consumers, especially children, teenagers, and youth, to use media content and digital platforms rationally. The aim is to protect them from exposure to inappropriate content or involvement in sites promoting violence, hatred, or pornography. This intervention aims to analyze mechanisms for promoting critical thinking while consuming media content and digital platforms, following the critical school's approach. We will explore Habermas's perspective on the communicative space fostering critical thinking and Paulo Freire's approach to the interrelation between media and digital education and the formation of the social critical consciousness of media consumers.