Ofcom has a statutory duty to promote and research media literacy. A key way we seek to fulfil this duty is through our Making Sense of Media programme, which aims to help improve the online skills, knowledge and understanding of children and adults in the UK.
We commissioned ‘A Day in the Life’ to explore the broad context of media literacy and to provide an understanding of the role of media literacy in people’s daily lives. The research started from the ground up, exploring what day-to-day life looks like for a diverse sample of 20 people across the UK. We used full-day ethnographies, a seven-day media diary (including screen recording where possible) and qualitative interviews to form a detailed understanding of the participants’ lives and the intersections with media literacy.
The report presents key findings from the research and selected case studies, and should be considered alongside the detailed case studies document which accompanies it. The case studies provide a tangible, rich picture of daily life for our sample, and the many and varied ways that media literacy manifests.
A day in the life (PDF, 4.0 MB)
A day in the life - case studies (PDF, 11.2 MB)