Media literacy: shaping responsible and accessible media consumption
Following a year where the concept of “post-truth” was deemed Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year and media outlets had arguably the largest amount of influence they have ever had over global politics by steering public opinion, it’s difficult not to question if the problem of contemporary media lies in the practices or the way media is consumed. Both answers are correct; while the former is difficult to change due to media’s built-in commercial aspect, the latter is up to ourselves and if we properly analyse the content around us. Enter media literacy.
With the contemporary media landscape dominated by interconnected digital tools where information propagates at light-like speeds, which in turn is replicated my contemporary journalism’s “need to be first” it is difficult to effectively filter out unreliable information. This is only one side of the coin however, as on the other side we have an audience for whom content has been tailored for rather than by themselves, this does not mean they are necessarily at fault, however their consumption is reactionary rather than analytical.
Media literacy is the notion focused on applying the tools of the digital age in a way that is engaging enough to encourage critical thinking skills so the general public is able to apply them towards a broad range of issues. Media literacy helps us understand how media and its messages influence culture and society; it allows to identify what is “news” and if the source of the media we consume has a particular agenda in shape of bias, misinformation, or parts of stories we are simply not being told.
By becoming more media savvy the usage of digital communications becomes more rich and meaningful, as we engage with communities and help them become more sustainable and vibrant in digital culture so they are able to appropriately analyse media messages based on their experiences, skills, beliefs, and values, rather than reacting to them. An often overlooked benefit of developing media literacy is that it allows us to scrutinise media outlets, and so their scrutiny of public figures can be of a higher standard thus helping common citizens responsibly take part in the chain of communication and protection of freedom of speech.
Albeit unrelated to traveling itself, I have come to appreciate it more than I did at first through travels and thus it become the second motivation behind this blog. Arguably one of the most useful things I have learned in my time as a student, media literacy exemplifies what good media consumption should be like. There are parallels with civic imagination and some of the organisations I chose for this blog’s content, and that is no coincidence as I am thankful for their teachings.
Media literacy’s ideals are not exclusively applicable to media alone, they can also benefit culture, people, a other aspects of life as we are able to make wiser decisions by critically looking at people and situations from other perspectives.
