A model for understanding new media literacy: Epistemological beliefs and social media use

Abstract New media literacy (NML) skills are regarded as crucial for the 21st century. However, there is limited research on the factors affecting NML skills. A robust model was built for exploring the antecedents of NML. The model incorporated epistemological beliefs and social media use purposes. Individuals` purposes of social media use were found to have an effect on beliefs about information. Further, interactional and communicational use of social media makes epistemological beliefs more sophisticated. However, it is more likely to have naive beliefs with the use of social media for making new friends. Also, the purposes of social media use and epistemological beliefs affect NML skills. Accordingly, interactional use of social media might contribute to justifying information, in turn, increasing NML skills. This study indicates that knowledge of social media use and epistemological beliefs enables us to largely understand the NML skills.