1. Alison Preston presented findings of Ofcom’s Media Literacy Audit at a workshop on
24 April, where she compared findings with results of the Oxford Internet Surveys.
Ofcom’s audit documented continuing growth in use of the Internet. While its
diffusion is still incremental, the use by those who have the Internet is expanding.
Also the findings did not suggest that there were major shifts in how people are using
the Internet, such as in accessing information of all sorts, but there was a
considerable increase in newer activities, such as social networking in particular.
Much discussion focused on whether those who use social networking sites were
aware of who can and cannot get access to what information. Some worried that
users might believe they are posting information that is visible to a wider audience,
as when I naively revealed how old I was!
Alison’s slides are available online at: