Defining media education and digital citizenship. An analytical study in the context of information society challenges

This article addresses the issue of media education as a civilizational imperative in the age of mediatization. The subject is defined as an integrated process of shaping conscious, critical, and responsible media use, covering broadcasting and reception competences in three areas: media, information, and digital (including data literacy, algorithm literacy, and AI literacy). Media education is described on several levels, including media awareness, message analysis, information verification, the role of AI, and support institutions. The aim is to formulate media education tasks that lead to digital citizenship, manifested in safe, critical, and sovereign participation in today’s networked world. An additional goal is to highlight the role and significance of Polish media studies, the Media Education Section of the Polish Association of Communication Studies (PTKS), and the team of media education experts, which advocates for the development of an educational module for schools and the recognition of the importance of postgraduate studies in media education, and has contributed to the declaration of 2027 as the Year of Awareness and Information Security (RŚiBI).