INTERVIEW Violeta Kecman for "Vijesti": In order not to be manipulated, we must be media literate

We live in a media-centric world, surrounded by information from all sides. In order not to be manipulated, we have to be media literate, said in an interview for "Vijesti" dr Violeta Kecman, assistant professor at the University of Communication in Belgrade.

She is the author of the book "Media Literacy and Critical Thinking" which was recently presented in Podgorica, at the International Book Fair, and she has good impressions from the promotion, given that communication was initiated, but also that most visitors ended up there practically by accident.

"The book is intended for everyone who wants to learn more about the possibilities of defense against media manipulation through education," the author clearly states.

In an interview with "Vijesti", she comments on the connection between media literacy, critical thinking and culture and art, as well as the education system.

“We were educated to be heroes. Many have become intimidated, insensitive and inaccessible. It is as if, of all the goals of education and art, the most important one, crucial for human dignity, rewritten so many times in various education reforms in the Balkan countries in the last thirty years - critical thinking - has remained unfulfilled. The question is whether current school reading and popular culture can resist the changed cognitive and social reality of today's young people, encouraging them to think about the senselessness of the centuries-old swing of the pendulum from suffering to committing violence", she says and explains everything in more detail.

What are the impressions from the promotion of the book in Podgorica and what do you think is why this book is important for Montenegrin society, is it because of something special?

The quality of a book promotion is measured by the curiosity of visitors and the number of books purchased after the promotion. I got the impression that quite a few Fair visitors overheard the conversation about the book and decided to follow the event to the end. According to the questions that were asked at the end and the fact that one lady warmly waved the book she had bought at me in the parking lot after the promotion, I would say that we succeeded in bringing the importance of critical thinking and media literacy to the visitors today. Thank you professors To Vuk Vuković i Janko Ljumović for support, as well as the Secretariat for Culture and Sports, whose invitation I responded to.

The book "Media Literacy and Critical Thinking" is important because it illuminates sensitive points in the process of democratization and healing of society - questioning the relationship between ownership and the media, the ability to critically interpret information, the willingness to consider one's own beliefs and change them, if they are unfounded. At the promotion in Podgorica, people wanted to hear more about the relationship between the culture of memory and critical thinking. In the song "Earthquake" Sima Pandurović he painfully repeats one line: "Hygiene of not remembering sight..." The need to re-examine the collective past and outline the answer to the question: Who are we? is basically a defense against the misunderstanding of the collective's actions in the present. That storm of information that comes from the media about ourselves and the world we are a part of, anesthetizes us from insight into who we are, what we are capable of and what we are not.

You have pointed out more than once that "media literacy is not just reading and listening to the news or any media content". On the other hand, what would you say media literacy is and why is it important to us today?

The first and most important step is to become aware of the fact that media content does not come only from newspapers, radio and television, but also through the Internet - through social networks, various applications, in podcasts, everywhere from where information is directed to the public. You are media literate if you notice that news of public importance was reported by some media, while others were not, if you are able to answer the questions why certain media reported on it and others did not. A media-literate individual simultaneously perceives and questions the content he encounters in the media - he checks the information by following different sources, recognizes the mechanisms by which the government diverts attention from important problems in society to unimportant ones, realizes that the abundance of irrelevant information in the media content contributes to the neglect of arguments and a weaker understanding of the general pictures. A person who is media literate exposes the tactics of creating problems where there are none, knowing that continuous pointing in the media to existential threats, external and internal enemies and the economic crisis contribute to easier acceptance of restrictions on freedom of movement, to the development of hatred towards individuals and social groups, as well as to the belief that in a crisis situation, patience is the only realistic solution, because "it could always be worse than it is". At the same time, a media-literate person is able to recognize the calculated incitement of conflict in another field, in order to ignore the focal point of the problem, decipher the manipulation of emotions, because he knows that the use of emotionally suggestive photos and videos suppresses the mechanisms of critical thinking, encourages unconscious reaction and acceptance imposed narrative.

These qualifications of a media literate individual are only apparently difficult to achieve. The essence is in confronting the fact that all media messages are sent with a certain intention and that questions should be asked before each one: Who sent this media message and why? Who is it intended for? What ideology and lifestyle does it highlight? How did the message catch my attention? How would the rest of the public react to the same message? We live in a media-centric world, surrounded by information from all sides. In order not to be manipulated, we must be media literate.

What is the relationship between media literacy and critical thinking?

Critical thinking is a tool for media literacy. It is a higher-order concept - even in the eras before the first media, critical thinking was a valuable, sometimes dangerous competence.

Critical thinking is not an innate intellectual operation. It can be established in adolescence, with the appearance of abstract thinking, and be improved throughout life, but also neglected and suppressed. Its quality is determined by the depth of examination of certain content, which, in addition to the intellectual capacity of the individual, also depends on experience and knowledge in that field. An individual with a developed critical thinking asks questions and points to key problems, formulating them clearly and precisely, collects and evaluates relevant information using abstract ideas, in order to interpret them effectively, reasons and draws conclusions from sustainable argumentation, arriving at a solution, checks the validity of the solution according to the relevant criteria and standards, thinks independently of stereotypes and prejudices, not avoiding alternative solutions to problems, reexamines own assumptions, implications and consequences of earlier conclusions and solutions. Also, a critical thinker is able to communicate effectively with others in finding solutions to complex problems.

The presence and level of development of critical thinking is recognized by the way one thinks about reality - global, individual, cultural, economic, social and political.

Who is this book intended for and how to read it? In addition, how important is critical thinking actually for society and democracy, but also in the fight against propaganda, fake news, manipulation and the like?

The book "Media Literacy and Critical Thinking" is intended for everyone who wants to learn more about the possibilities of defense against media manipulation through education. This book is a support for parents of adolescents, high school teachers, university professors and students of media, dramatic arts, psychology, pedagogy and sociology, creators of educational and media policies, as well as authors of textbooks and teaching aids.

It is extremely important to encourage the critical thinking of adolescents, because it is they who become the electorate, willingly or unwillingly, gaining a certain political power. Research shows that attitudes and beliefs are established in youth, and that they are difficult to change in later years. Critical thinking is confirmed in reflecting on the social and political circumstances that shape our reality, considering the actions of social and political factors and their influence on our viewpoints, analyzing power relations and human actions, but also determining the causes of the absence of social activism and responsibility.

Can and how can critical thinking be developed through art and culture?

If critical thinking is based on selfish goals and if it is pragmatic, it will manifest itself in the manipulation of ideas for one's own benefit or for the benefit of some interest group. Realized in this way, critical thinking represents an intellectual defect. When based on intellectual integrity, the idea of ​​goodness or the general interest, it implies an intellectual operation of a higher order and is ethically exemplary.

Those who think critically have the capacity to enlighten others and improve society. History confirms that in all repressive systems, artists are carefully guarded as potentially dangerous and subversive members of the community.

Through theater, literature, film, we can get to know the circumstances and reality in which we live, and maybe then, based on that, determine our attitude towards certain phenomena. How important are these aspects for the development of the interpretation of the world around us, but also for media literacy and critical thinking?

Literature, theater and film confirm that there have always been heroes, thugs, executioners and informers. By critically reflecting on reality, the individual opposes the disordered order that surrounds him. Despite the hatred of the Ottomans towards Christians, Andrićev the Turkish vizier Mehmed Pasha Sokolović manages to return to his homeland via the bridge. A hero Miloš Crnjanski, Vuk Isaković, feels the bottomless nothingness and emptiness of life, but does not give up the search for ending the wandering of the collective. Kočićev David Štrbac sincerely and passionately loves truth and freedom, fearlessly stands up to the powerful Austrian authorities, even though he is "despised and hungry as a dog". Bishop's deep dilemma Danila it was supposed to awaken critical consciousness and encourage critical thinking. We were trained to be heroes. Many have become intimidated, insensitive and inaccessible. It is as if, of all the goals of education and art, the most important one, crucial for human dignity, rewritten so many times in various education reforms in the Balkan countries in the last thirty years - critical thinking - has remained unfulfilled. The question is whether current school reading and popular culture can resist the changed cognitive and social reality of today's young people, encouraging them to think about the senselessness of the centuries-old swing of the pendulum from suffering to committing violence.

What has the most influence on our societies, primarily on young people and their power of reasoning, decision-making, creation, but also criticism and rebellion, and problem mapping and the like?

An essential element of media content that encourages critical thinking is a poetically stylized critique of the social context. With that element, structured media content engages, moves and obliges. Humor achieved through irony and satire, as expressive forms of social criticism, is a consequence of the intention to use comedic means to achieve balance in relation to the tragic overall context. This conclusion was derived from the results of empirical research, which was presented in the book "Media Literacy and Critical Thinking". It was found that the consumption of satirical media content, such as the feature film "Masters, masters" Goran Marković or the TV show “24 minutes with Zoran Kesić”, encourage the critical attitude and creativity of adolescents when writing essays, the variety of vocabulary and its more precise use, which is one of the characteristics of critical thinking. Aestheticized criticism encourages criticism. This research result can be considered significant for establishing educational policies and creating strategies.

In which direction are we moving and what should we work on?

The starting point in developing media literacy should be the ethical dimension - distinguishing between good and evil in the real world, emphasizing the importance of truth, noble behavior, respect for the needs of other people, nurturing humanistic ideas. Firmly established moral principles will ensure moral behavior, independent of the technological context of the historical moment. Education is a proven sure way to develop critical thinking and all forms of literacy.

Media content is tailored to the readers

You said earlier that readers are "at the same time the consumer, but also the means and goal of that media content"... In what way and is it always obvious? In addition, you also said that it is important to know who is the sender of a message... How much does the sender play an important role in media literacy?

All media content is addressed with a specific goal to a specific target group as consumers. The media content is shaped according to their measure: preferences, desires, weaknesses... This target group is at the same time a means for the further action of the sender of media messages. Sender information reveals their intentions. That is why it is important to know the source - to know the relationship between media and ownership, ways of media financing and editorial policy. When we talk about new media, everything that is presented in the media via the Internet, it is important to know that the number of views brings profit to the sender of the message, that influencers advertise certain products and consumer lifestyles.

In Montenegro and Serbia, the concept of media literacy is exploited

What would you say is the level of media literacy and critical thinking in the countries of the region and why?

The responsibility of adults towards children and adolescents is recognized in educational policies. Countries where more work was done on the safety of citizens and democratization of society, showed a greater willingness to systematically deal with media literacy and critical thinking of citizens.

The tendency in the educational systems of the West is to introduce media literacy as the goal of teaching subjects that are not directly focused on media education, such as: mother tongue, literature, social sciences, health care and art. The secondary education systems of Canada, Great Britain, Australia and Finland proved to be the educational systems in which media literacy was most successfully implemented in the world.

In the region, Slovenia went the furthest in that field. The radical reform of the educational system in the 90s brought about the introduction of media literacy in primary and secondary education. As an independent subject, media education was implemented in the curriculum for the seventh, eighth and ninth grades of elementary school. The introduction of the Media Education course at the teaching faculties in Ljubljana (Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty of Pedagogy) is also significant. The course program includes establishing and strengthening the competencies of future teachers for the analysis and production of media messages through teaching content.

As far as Montenegro and Serbia are concerned, it seems to me that the concept itself and the fact that the process of European integration implied a greater presence of media literacy among the teaching goals is more exaggerated than something that was actually done in practice. Many documents confirm that projects have been implemented, trainings held, forums and expert meetings on the topic of media literacy, but have we become a more media "literate" society? The key question is whether the state needs citizens who think critically about the media, whether the government and other centers of power are ready to be questioned and evaluated by citizens in public discourse.