뉴미디어가 대중들의 서사적 사고를 추동하는 방식에 대한 서사교육적 탐색

Abstract

The phenomenon of new media producers intentionally spreading misinformation and manipulated information to incite the public and gain economic benefits is becoming widespread. In the case of YouTube, a representative of new media, the term “YouTube journalism” has emerged, indicating that it is taking over the role of traditional media. However, upon closer examination, it reveals a strong tendency to display false, distorted, or exaggerated information to attract public attention and generate profits. This study analyzes how some YouTube content creators presented false information regarding the “death of a university student at the Han River.” The findings confirm the influence of narrative thinking in the dissemination of unreliable information. Some YouTubers stimulate the audience’s narrative thinking to interpret the event in a plausible manner, leading to unsubstantiated and unverified information being mistaken for “narrative truth.” One proposed solution to this issue is education on meta-awareness of narrative thinking. By educating learners that humans are narrative beings who interpret experiences based on narrative thinking, they can become aware that their understanding of specific events is not objective fact but a plausible hypothetical inference. Thus, this study discusses the need for meta-awareness of narrative thinking for a critical reading of YouTube in the new media era.