The Integrative Importance of Information Culture and Media Literacy in Developing Students’ Civic Responsibility

Abstract

The article examines the integrative importance of information culture and media literacy in developing students’ civic responsibility in higher education. In the context of digital transformation, students interact with a wide range of information flows, social media platforms, online communities, electronic educational resources and multimedia content. This situation creates both educational opportunities and social risks. Information culture helps students search, evaluate, systematize and ethically use information, while media literacy enables them to critically analyze media messages, identify manipulation, distinguish facts from opinions and participate responsibly in digital communication. The integration of these two components forms an important pedagogical basis for developing civic responsibility, social awareness, legal consciousness, critical thinking and active participation in public life. The study is based on theoretical analysis, comparative-pedagogical interpretation, content analysis and scientific generalization. The results show that civic responsibility cannot be effectively developed without students’ ability to understand the social meaning of information, evaluate media content critically and act responsibly in both real and digital environments. The article concludes that the integration of information culture and media literacy should become a systematic component of higher education.