Examining the relationship between high school students' critical thinking tendencies and media and television literacy levels (Afyonkarahisar sample)

Until the 21st century, the main source of information was books, newspapers, magazines, etc., but today, which is called the age of technology, with the production of many technological devices, the sources from which we obtain information have also changed, and tools such as computers, the internet, radio, television, mobile phones, etc. have begun to be used as the main source of information. Due to the fact that information changes, develops and is presented through many sources, it has become necessary for individuals to have media literacy skills, which are based on the skills of accessing the sought-after information, analyzing, evaluating information and sharing it with others, and critical thinking skills, which consist of the skills of removing unnecessary information, recognizing incomplete information and questioning the accuracy of information. For this reason, it has become important to examine critical thinking and media and television literacy skills in individuals. In this direction, the purpose of this study was determined as examining the relationship between the critical thinking skills of high school students and media and television literacy skills. In the first stage of the study, a theoretical framework was created by conducting a literature review on the concepts of critical thinking skills and media and television literacy skills. The opinions of 356 high school students in Afyonkarahisar were obtained using scales related to the subject. The obtained data were analyzed using factor analysis, reliability analysis, percentage, frequency and arithmetic mean values, t-test, variance analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis methods. As a result of the findings, it was observed that there was a strong positive relationship between the critical thinking and media and television literacy levels of high school students. When the relationship level was examined in terms of the sub-variables of the study, which are gender, grade level, mother's education status and father's education status, it was determined that there was a strong positive relationship with all sub-variables. In the examinations regarding the level of critical thinking tendency predicting the media and television literacy level, it was concluded that the critical thinking tendency was a significant predictor of the media and television literacy level.