Understanding the relationship between new media literacy, communication skills, and democratic tendency: Model development and testing

Abstract

New media provides new sources of information and communication that are crucial for participatory behaviors. Therefore, scholars conceptualize new media literacy (NML) that citizens should have to function successfully in this digital era. This study proposed and tested a structural model that examines multiple relationships among NML, communication skills (CS), and democratic tendency (DT). Data were collected from 1047 Turkish university students and analyzed through structural equation modeling. Using a comprehensive theoretical framework from the literature, NML was operationalized through four factors: functional consuming (FC), critical consuming (CC), functional prosuming (FP), and critical prosuming (CP). The results showed that FC and FP had a positive effect on CC, CP, and CS; CC had a positive effect on CP and DT; and CS had a positive effect on CC and DT. Findings of indirect effects revealed that CC and CS played mediation roles in the relationship of FC and FP with DT.