The Role of Media Literacy in the Development of Critical Thinking

Abstract

The conducted research aims to examine young people's attitudes about the role
of critical thinking in assessing available media content. Answers were collected using an anonymous questionnaire that included attitudes about exposure to media content, availability of technical infrastructure, and self-assessment of the level of media and information literacy. The research was conducted in October 2024, in the area of Istria, and 109 respondents, high school students and full-time students, participated. The answers were analyzed with the statistical program JASP, including exploratory factor analysis, KMO test and Bartlett's test of sphericity. The results of the quantitative analysis showed that critical thinking is recognized as a basic prerequisite for functioning in the information environment. Educational institutions are suggested to introduce educational programs aimed at a deeper understanding of the mentioned concept, while emphasizing the need to develop media and digital literacy as personal skills and basic competencies.