Research on Media Use and Media Literacy Education of Left-behind Children in Rural China Author: Zheng Suxia
Publisher: Social Sciences Academic Press (CHINA)

---

In the information age, media literacy is a basic skill. Citizens with adequate media literacy can not only clearly understand and analyze received information, analyzing the world in terms of news and reality, but can also produce and publish their own information, participating in public affairs by expressing themselves. This means they can be information producers.

Research on Media Use and Media Literacy Education of Left-behind Children in Rural China poses various questions. It shows that media literacy problems not only affect left-behind children, but also those in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. The media literacy of these Chinese children (all under the age of 18) is far behind than that of children in Western countries.

In terms of the media literacy education among left-behind children in rural areas, Zheng Suxia offers some suggestions in her book: launching media literacy training courses for primary and middle school teachers, integrating media literacy into courses like Chinese, introduction to science and morality, supporting social forces to take active part in causes, and carrying out participatory action research on the media literacy education practices of left-behind children.

The most urgent task now is to call on the government to emphasize the importance, necessity and urgency of media literacy education, and carry out national level policies and funding support, and to provide the other facilities that media literacy education requires. Without state support, the implementation of media literacy education seems almost impossible.

In addition, under the current social structure of rural areas, left-behind children are vulnerable groups whose personal rights have not been guaranteed. Under the current education system, because of the imbalanced distribution of education resources, big cities have an education quality that far excess that of the rural areas, leading to children in rural areas judged by their scores above all else.

Self-development and improvement advocated by participatory activities are beneficial to children’s growth. However, the current education system, social infrastructure and national policies make participatory activities a luxury. While the world strives to nurture high-quality, independent citizens, investing in funds and talents, left-behind children in rural China lack the most basic love from their families: some children do not even recognize their parents, who work in big cities and do not come home for years; some over indulge in computer games due to the absence of family education; some are obsessed with smartphones but parents cannot give guidance. Survey shows that left-behind children mainly chat online and play games on the internet, which leads to bad health conditions and poor scores in school.

Zheng’s participatory activities on media literacy education have proven to be practical. However, widespread and in-depth media literacy education requires national effort. The development of society is another important element that determines the quality of media literacy education, which in China right now is more of an aspiration than a concrete fact.