Measuring the factors affecting on the level of media literacy among students at Sultan Qaboos University:

Bin Lagha, Faten; Nassar, Alia Ali

doi:10.21608/ejsc.2023.322686

Measuring the factors affecting on the level of media literacy among students at Sultan Qaboos University:

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Faten bin Lagha ¹
Alia Ali Nassar ²

¹ Assistant Professor of Public Relations, Department of Media - Sultan Qaboos University

² Master’s researcher in journalism and electronic publishing at the Department of Media - Sultan Qaboos University

10.21608/ejsc.2023.322686

Abstract

This study aims to measure the level of media literacy among sultan Qaboos University, based on measuring their level of conscious / automatic thinking, their level to control information, and determining their level of knowledge about the process of receiving information in the media, based on Potter’s Theory of Media Literacy.
The study sample consisted of students of Sultan Qaboos University, who numbered (17800) female and male students, from (9) colleges (College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, college of arts and social sciences, College of Economy and Political Studies, college of education, college of engineering, college of law, college of medicine & health sciences, college of nursing, and college of science). The study sample included (504) students, (56) students from each college, and the data was processed statistically using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).
The results indicated that the level of conscious/automatic thinking among the study sample was average, with a general arithmetic mean (2.96) and most of the sample preferred the entertainment content, and the level of information control is high, with a general arithmetic mean (3.70) which shows that the sample have the upper hand in controlling the media they consume to a large extent, and thus are able to make appropriate decisions according to their perception of what should be displayed by the media.
The study recommends establishing a national framework for media Literacy in the Sultanate of Oman and benefiting from international experiences by developing a local curriculum for media Literacy in coordination with the UNESCO office in the Sultanate of Oman.

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