Critical Awakening: Enhancing Students' Agency through Critical Media Literacy

This literature review examines the significance of Critical Media Literacy (CML) in higher education. The rapid digitalization and globalization have intensified media dissemination, raising critical issues about information authenticity and its societal impacts. CML empowers individuals to critically analyze media, discern between reliable and unreliable sources, recognize biases, and understand the broader socio-political implications of media messages. The study leverages Stuart Hall's Encoding and Decoding Theory to dissect how media messages are constructed, disseminated, and interpreted, emphasizing the need for critical engagement in the post-truth era. The review highlights the detrimental effects of fake news and disinformation on democracy and trust in institutions, stressing the importance of integrating CML into higher education curricula to foster informed and engaged citizens. The paper also discusses the methodological limitations in current research and the necessity for comprehensive teacher training and systemic changes in educational institutions. Ultimately, this study underscores the transformative potential of CML in developing critical thinking, promoting democratic engagement, combating media manipulation and misinformation, and advocating for its inclusion in education policies and practices to prepare students for the complexities of the digital media landscape. [Note: The page range (14-34) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct page range is 14-35.]