6 The Faceless Mobile Youth of Africa Drive Change
65
become an extension of themselves. It is therefore not surprising that the youth
uses their phones to interact socially via apps like Facebook Messenger, Pinterest,
Instagram and WhatsApp to name but a few. Through Facebook, Twitter, MySpace
and other social media networks, youths create virtual communities that not only give
them a voice but also offer anonymity. Virtual communities are slowly replacing faceto-face communication. It would therefore be shortsighted not to utilise these new
ways of communicating and interacting as a mechanism to drive change and build
resilience among at-risk-youth.
The role of digital literacy and cyber safety is established, although policy and
practice have been slow to respond to new ways of thinking about media literacy in a
digital world. Traditionally, media literacy has been understood and taught in relation
to mass media, addressing issues of media ownership, censorship and advertising.
However, today’s online and networked media environment requires a more complex
digital literacy that is often not explicitly taught in school. This environment requires
that young people develop new skills to participate and stay safe in the new digital
media environment. Consequently, there are a number of components to technology
literacy (Third and Richardson 2010). These include the following:
• Technical literacy—for example, the knowledge and skills required to use a computer, web browser or particular software programme or application;
• Critical content literacy—the ability to effectively use search engines and understand who or what organisations created or sponsor the information; where the
information comes from and its credibility and/or nature;
• Communicative and social networking literacy—an understanding of the many different spaces of communication on the web; what is appropriate digital behaviour;
level of privacy (and therefore level of safe self -disclosure for each); and how to
deal with unwanted or inappropriate communication through them;
• Creative content and visual literacy—in addition to the skills to create and upload
image and video content, this includes understanding how online visual content is
edited and constructed, what kind of content is appropriate;
• Mobile media literacy—familiarity with the skills and forms of communication
specific to mobile phones (e.g. text messaging/instant messaging); mobile web
literacy, and an understanding of mobile phone etiquettes.
6.7 Social Media
Although people have been using the Internet to connect with others since the early
1980s, it is only in the last decade that social networking services have proliferated
and their use has become a widespread practice—particularly amongst young people (Johnson et al. 2009). Social media is generally used to describe collaborative
media creation and sharing on a fairly large scale but is extended to include microcommunities. The uptake of social media in its various forms signifies a shift in how
technology use has changed from primarily an information and entertainment source
65
become an extension of themselves. It is therefore not surprising that the youth
uses their phones to interact socially via apps like Facebook Messenger, Pinterest,
Instagram and WhatsApp to name but a few. Through Facebook, Twitter, MySpace
and other social media networks, youths create virtual communities that not only give
them a voice but also offer anonymity. Virtual communities are slowly replacing faceto-face communication. It would therefore be shortsighted not to utilise these new
ways of communicating and interacting as a mechanism to drive change and build
resilience among at-risk-youth.
The role of digital literacy and cyber safety is established, although policy and
practice have been slow to respond to new ways of thinking about media literacy in a
digital world. Traditionally, media literacy has been understood and taught in relation
to mass media, addressing issues of media ownership, censorship and advertising.
However, today’s online and networked media environment requires a more complex
digital literacy that is often not explicitly taught in school. This environment requires
that young people develop new skills to participate and stay safe in the new digital
media environment. Consequently, there are a number of components to technology
literacy (Third and Richardson 2010). These include the following:
• Technical literacy—for example, the knowledge and skills required to use a computer, web browser or particular software programme or application;
• Critical content literacy—the ability to effectively use search engines and understand who or what organisations created or sponsor the information; where the
information comes from and its credibility and/or nature;
• Communicative and social networking literacy—an understanding of the many different spaces of communication on the web; what is appropriate digital behaviour;
level of privacy (and therefore level of safe self -disclosure for each); and how to
deal with unwanted or inappropriate communication through them;
• Creative content and visual literacy—in addition to the skills to create and upload
image and video content, this includes understanding how online visual content is
edited and constructed, what kind of content is appropriate;
• Mobile media literacy—familiarity with the skills and forms of communication
specific to mobile phones (e.g. text messaging/instant messaging); mobile web
literacy, and an understanding of mobile phone etiquettes.
6.7 Social Media
Although people have been using the Internet to connect with others since the early
1980s, it is only in the last decade that social networking services have proliferated
and their use has become a widespread practice—particularly amongst young people (Johnson et al. 2009). Social media is generally used to describe collaborative
media creation and sharing on a fairly large scale but is extended to include microcommunities. The uptake of social media in its various forms signifies a shift in how
technology use has changed from primarily an information and entertainment source