Promoting digital literacy through magazines

Many investigations into improving levels of digital media literacy have focused on the technology itself and the skill level of users. Traditional media has long been a source of information for people and yet little investigation has been conducted into using traditional media such as magazines for improving digital media literacy levels in a non-intrusive way. As traditional media is still an important way to disseminate information and while Australians continue to be high consumers of print magazines, it seemed a logical progression to investigate as a starting point whether technology is discussed or visually present within the pages of some of our highest circulating magazines. The focus of this paper is on a Nintendo advertorial printed in The Australian Women’s Weekly (AWW) in November 2010. The advertorial offered insights into six Australian womens’ experiences of using a Nintendo during a demonstration day. Combining aspects of digital media literacy with potential literacy tools of magazines, this paper considers the advertorial as part of a non-intrusive educative approach to increasing digital media literacy through promotional messages.