ML - What is Media Literacy? Lesson

What is Media Literacy?

 

 

The ability to analyze and evaluate media messages is an essential first step in becoming media literate. Media literacy constitutes accessing and critically evaluating health messages communicated through media sources including television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and other related outlets. Deconstructing individual media examples, identifying the persuasion techniques used, and applying the media literacy concepts are important skills that can lead to a deeper understanding of the media messages that bombard us every day.

 

 

This involves four interrelated concepts and skill sets:

  1. Media messages reflect the social, political, economic, and technological environment of the media system in which they are created. They either reinforce that environment, by perpetuating stereotypes, for example, or they challenge it.
  2. Examining the relationship between media and society raises the issue of media justice. Our media system produces a lot of negative, demeaning imagery. It privileges some people and some perspectives, and ignores or silences others. It renders entire groups of people invisible.
  3. Just as literacy is the ability both to read and write, media literacy involves both understanding media messages and creating media. We all create media. Learning how to express oneself in a variety of media is an important part of being media literate.
  4. Media literate individuals are active participants in our media culture. While many people analyze and criticize media messages, and others focus on creating their own media, more and more people are also becoming media activists. Becoming an active agent for change in our media culture is a natural result of being media literate. Some skills that aid in a person becoming a more active participant in media culture are, but not limited to, being able to posses the ability to: illustrate scientific basis of claims, recognizing types of studies, and understanding strengths and weaknesses and the concept of causation.

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