The role of media literacy in creating a sense of social belonging and increasing civic participation (Case study of 18-29-year-old youth in Isfahan)

Document Type : researcher

Authors
Zahra Taheri 1
Neda Rahmani 2
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Imam Khomeini International University,Qazvin, Iran
2 Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Natural Disaster Engineering Research Institute, Shahed Pajouh, Isfahan
10.22034/scm.2025.530010.1893
Abstract
Media literacy is recognized as one of the vital skills for living in contemporary society. This concept refers to the ability of individuals to analyze, evaluate, and create media content and directly affects social relationships and individual emotions. In this text, we will examine the relationship between media literacy in creating a sense of social belonging and its role in increasing civic participation.
This research was conducted as a survey among 340 young people aged 18-29 in Isfahan. The method of random sampling and data analysis was using SPSS and Amos software.
Results: Media literacy has achieved an average score among the selected sample, and in examining the average score from the highest
to the lowest of its dimensions, it was: identifying social influences, responsible use of media, content analyzing, content production, and credibility assessment, respectively. The sense of social belonging, taking into account the average score and its dimensions, was the dimension of social interactions. sense of group identity, and social support respectively.
The civic participation score was also average. Also, the relationship between the media literacy variable and the sense of social belonging and increase in civic participation was significant. In examining the contextual variables, no relationship was found between age and media literacy, nor was there a mean difference in terms of gender, education level, and marital status with media literacy.In examining the structural equation model, media literacy had a significant effect on civic participation and sense of social belonging
Keywords
Media Literacy
Sense of Social Belonging
Civic Participation
Subjects
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Society Culture Media
Volume 14, Issue 57
Winter 2026
Pages 105-138

  • Receive Date 25 June 2025
  • Revise Date 05 December 2025
  • Accept Date 06 December 2025