Literature Review:
Digital Media & Data Literacy for Adults in Canada

Introduction

This literature review is the beginning of an exploration to understand Canada’s efforts in developing digital media literacy education for adult citizens and to gauge the preparedness of adult learners for rapid technological change. First, I will detail definitions of new literacies and draw in how multiliteracies (The New London Group, 1996) are highly relevant, followed by my definition of digital media literacy (DML). From there, discussing—at a high level—the state of digital media literacy globally, and narrowing the lens to Canada. With reference to Canada’s progress, I will outline findings about DML for adults; then, expanding the necessity of DML for adults with the relevance of Internet safety and data literacy.

Relevance of New Literacies and Multiliteracies

Reading about New Literacies (Street, 2008) and Multiliteracies (The New London Group, 1996) challenged my original thinking of digital literacy and how that term connects with scope of what is digital today and what might make sense for the future. Literacy is very much a social practice that varies from one context to another, not simply a technical skill, that is always embedded in socially constructed epistemological principles (Street, 2008). Citizens need to know how to recognize and analyze the information they’re shown online and how to navigate the micro-moments that they find themselves in. In that way, literacy is “part of a power relationship and how people take hold of it is contingent on social and cultural practices and not just pedagogic and cognitive factors” (Street, 2008).

Considering the designed social nature of technology today, it’s relevant to ask, “what are the consequences of the present generation of new technologies” (Street, 2008). Multiliteracies dive deeper, emphasizing the intricacies and overlapping of evolving linguistic and cultural differences that are foundational to our everyday lives (The New London Group, 1996). Fostering the critical engagement necessary to thrive in those spaces is essential for citizens to design their social futures—be active participants of social change—and to achieve success through employment (The New London Group, 1996). The changing shape of working life affords some unprecedented affluence and access, while excluding others through limited access to technology and/or due to outcomes of education and training (The New London Group, 1996).

What couldn’t be more relevant is the need for developing citizens who are adaptive, to “constant change through thinking and speaking for oneself, critique and empowerment, innovation and creativity, technical and systems thinking, and learning how to learn” (The New London Group, 1996). Education cannot be the only avenue that people learn about digital media literacy—it needs to be approached and supported as life-long learning process.

The State of Digital Media Literacy Globally

Like the concept of multiliteracies, in UNESCO’s Media and Information Literacy Framework, they highlight critical thinking, engagement and complex understanding, combining three areas of literacy—media, digital and information (Grizzle et al., 2021). In 2015, United Nation countries committed to 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) (Grizzle et al., 2021). “Promoting information as a public good is indispensable if the SDGs are to be achieved by 2030. Media and information literacy (MIL) contributes to the realization of all the SDGs” (Grizzle et al., 2021). The global digital transformation we’re experiencing comes with plenty of opportunities as well as threats; with reference to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning and the varying levels of understanding of those technologies (Grizzle et al., 2021). There is a growing proportion of misinformation and disinformation and “people struggle to distinguish these, with disempowering consequences” without knowing how to verify content, “decisions rely exclusively on emotions and/or falsehoods or false connections” (Grizzle et al., 2021). What citizens will learn through a MIL framework would “enable them to demand high-quality and rights-respecting services from all content providers” (Grizzle et al., 2021). Unlike Australia and the United Kingdom, Canada does not yet have a national digital media literacy strategy (McAleese et al., 2022).

The State of Digital Media Literacy in Canada

Canada does not have an accurate baseline measurement of digital media literacy skills (McAleese et al., 2022). Without a common understanding of what a basic level of literacy is, it’s difficult to promote digital literacy in a uniform way across Canadian students, workers and citizens (Hadziristic, 2017). The Government of Canada has been mostly focused on digital infrastructure and security (e.g., the creation of Bill C-27: Digital Charter Implementation Act in 2022, and Bill C-63: Online Harms Act) even though digital literacy has been identified as a key component of Canada’s talent strategy (Julien et al., 2021). The Faun Rice highlights, “digital literacy as a precondition for education, work, and citizenship,” and a “culture that values literacy also increases its citizens’ employability and entrepreneurship” (Julien et al., 2021). Digital literacy skills are often discussed in conjunction with industries which require specialized skills beyond a basic literacy (e.g., cyber security, analytics and web development) (Hadziristic, 2017). MediaSmarts is advocating for a digital media literacy strategy for Canada that intersects, “with digital equity and inclusion and closing digital divides” (Rice, 2022).

Literacy for Adults

It’s imperative for a civil society to have citizens fully participate in the new media landscape where digital and media interactions are embedded (The New London Group, 1996). To be able to wholly participate, adults need “the set of skills, knowledge and attitudes required to access digital information effectively, efficiently and ethically” (Julien, 2018). Like Julien et al. (2021) and UNESCO (Grizzle et al., 2021), MediaSmarts (McAleese et al. 2022) recognizes that, “a healthy democracy needs citizens who are resilient to mis- and disinformation,” and without this literacy there are significant consequences for citizens and communities, affecting their quality of life, civic engagement and economic health. Adults who lack digital media literacy are not as well equipped to assist and advise on the challenges plaguing kids in online environments. Families, educators, and communities are an important part of developing the digital well-being of youth, through an approach “grounded in trust, information, and empowerment so that youth also have the skills and resources they need to be safe, responsible and ethical citizens (MediaSmarts, 2023). Though 91% of Canadians aged 15 and older use the Internet, there are still groups (includes those who haven’t completed high school, persons with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, immigrants, seniors, people in northern, rural and remote communities) who are new to being online or who haven’t discovered the benefits of it (Government of Canada, 2023). Spreading DML to these groups of citizens will help them succeed in employment, enhance their safety when traversing online, and ensure their freedom of thought and expression (Brisson-Boivin & Johnson, 2024).

Internet Safety and Data Literacy

Digital media literacy helps citizens to assess their online interactions and the information they consume with their personal safety in mind. Improving Internet safety involves understanding the basics of data (data literacy): developing knowledge and awareness about what data is and when it’s collected, and critical thinking skills to assist with making decisions about their data. Data literacy, “is about the competencies people need to engage with and use the data encountered in everyday life. It implies finding ways to make data-informed decisions both in everyday life and in various contexts” (DALI, 2023). The DALI framework has three core areas of data literacy for citizenship, but for beginners, the Understanding Data is the most relevant for general digital media consumption and engagement (DALI, 2023). AI-powered algorithms and the use of data as a commodity has advanced so quickly while lacking transparency in how and when it’s implemented by corporations, informing citizens about their data, which is fed to these models, is imperative to harnessing the mis- and disinformation crisis. Corporations, "surveillance capitalists, know everything about us, whereas their operations are designed to be unknowable to us” (Zuboff, 2019). The urgency to provide citizens the framework and opportunities to learn the skills, knowledge and understanding needed to be active and engaged citizens has never been more important as what we do online has real and lasting consequences (Brisson-Boivin & Johnson, 2024).

Conclusion

“If the digital future is to be our home, then it is we who must make it so. We will need to know. We will need to decide. We will need to decide who decides. This is our fight for a human future” (Zuboff, 2019). The Government of Canada has been working to set the tone with regulations and policy focused on security and digital infrastructure, but people still need the skills to assess their moments of interaction with technology. Skills, knowledge and understanding will enhance citizen safety, employability and their ability to contribute to a civil society and thoughtfully engage in creative expression. Teaching citizens about digital media literacy, Internet safety and data literacy will assist with mobilizing policies that Canada has from the inside out. This can happen when we have “a media-literate populace to be able to identify those cases where regulation and legislation are appropriate and to distinguish between effective and ineffective approaches” (Brisson-Boivin & Johnson, 2024). Digital media literacy should be approached as an iterative process of life-long learning, as technology will continue to advance, rather than confining it to education early on in one’s life. Developing a Canadian-made DML strategy for organizations to mobilize for citizens, will provide the support and protection that Canadians need.

Statement on the Use of AI

Generative AI technology was not utilized for this assignment.

References

Brisson-Boivin, K., Johnson, M. (2024). To protect freedom of thought, we must commit to digital media literacy. Centre for International Governance Innovation. Retrieved January 28, 2025 from https://www.cigionline.org/articles/to-protect-freedom-of-thought-we-must-commit-to-digital-media-literacy/

DALI. (2023, July 28). Dali Data Literacy Framework. https://dalicitizens.eu/index.php/dali-data-literacy-framework-2/

Government of Canada. (2021, January 12). Canada’s digital charter. Retrieved on January 23, 2025 from https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/innovation-better-canada/en/canadas-digital-charter-trust-digital-world

Government of Canada. (2023, July 7). Digital literacy exchange program. Retrieved January 23, 2025 from https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/digital-literacy-exchange-program/en

Grizzle, A., Wilson, C., Tuazon, R., Cheung, C.K., Lau, J., Fischer, R., Gordon, D., Akyempong, K., Singh, J., Carr, P.R., Stewart, K., Tayie, S., Suraj, O., Jaakkola, M., Thésée, G., Gulston, C., Andzongo Menyeng, B.P., Zibi F., Paul, A., (2021). Media and information literate citizens: think critically, click wisely! UNESCO Digital Library. Retrieved January 27, 2025 from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000377068

Hadziristic, Tea. (2017, April). The state of digital literacy in Canada: A literature review. Brookfield Institute. https://dais.ca/reports/the-state-of-digital-literacy-a-literature-review/

Julien, Heidi. (2018). Digital literacy in theory and practice. In Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, 4th ed., Khosrow-Pour, M. (Ed.). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Julien, H., Gerstle, D., Detlor, B., Rose, T. L., & Serenko, A. (2021, October 1). Digital literacy training for Canadians, Part 1: It’s … just core public works. The Library Quarterly. 91(4), 437-456. https://doi.org/10.1086/715918

Julien, H., Gerstle, D., Detlor, B., Rose, T. L., & Serenko, A. (2022, January 1). Digital literacy training in Canada, Part 2: defining and measuring success. The Library Quarterly. 92(1), 87-100. https://doi.org/10.1086/717233

McAleese, S. & Brisson-Boivin, K. (2022). From access to engagement: a digital media literacy strategy for Canada. MediaSmarts. Ottawa. https://mediasmarts.ca/research-reports/access-engagement-building-digital-media-literacy-strategy-canada

MediaSmarts. (2023). Young Canadians in a wireless world, phase IV: trends and recommendations. MediaSmarts. Ottawa. https://mediasmarts.ca/research-and-evaluation/young-canadians-wireless-world/ycww-phase-iv/young-canadians-wireless-world-phase-iv-trends-and-recommendations

Rice, Faun. (2022, October 4). How to teach digital media literacy and equip Canadians to navigate mid- and disinformation. Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC). https://ictc-ctic.ca/articles/how-to-teach-digital-media-literacy-and-equip-canadians-to-navigate-mis-and-disinformation

Street, Brian. (2008). New literacies, new times: developments in literacy studies. In Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Hornberger, N.H. (Ed.). Springer US. 418-431. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30424-3_31

The New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: designing social futures. Harvard Educational Review. 66(1). 60-92. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.66.1.17370n67v22j160u

Zuboff, Shoshana (2019). The age of surveillance capitalism: the fight for a human future at the new frontier of power. New York: PublicAffairs.