Adult Media Literacy in 2024: Australian attitudes, experiences and needs

This report examines adult media literacy abilities, needs and experiences in Australia. Between January and April 2024 a representative sample of 3,852 adult Australians were surveyed alongside additional booster samples for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) Australians and First Nations Australians. This survey repeated questions asked in our inaugural 2021 Adult Media Literacy survey to produce longitudinal data, while also introducing new questions that respond to pressing issues and new digital media developments.
 
Survey findings show that most adult Australians use different types of digital media on a regular basis, but their overall confidence in their digital media abilities is quite low, with very little change since 2021. For example, most adult Australians are not confident about their ability to identify false and misleading information online, create a video and post it online, edit a digital photo, change social media privacy settings, or seek help from relevant authorities if they are being harassed online.
 
The report finds that there is overwhelming demand among Australians for adult and school-based media literacy education. However, many Australians have not received any form of media literacy education or they don’t have access to support when they need it.
 
The report was attached to ALIA's submission for the Select Committee on Adopting Artificial Intelligence