What is Media?
Media is the plural form of a medium, a channel of communication through which information is disseminated. In simple terms, it refers to a vehicle for carrying particular information from a sender to a receiver or a target audience. Examples of media are letters, books, newspapers, magazines, the telephone, movies, music, radio, television, computer games and social media.
What is information?
Information is the content of communication. It is transferred between senders and receivers, either via speaking and writing or using a medium. Examples include facts, experiences, news, announcements, timetables, report cards and reports.
What is media and information literacy?
“Literacy” is the ability to read and write. “Media and information literacy” is the ability to fully use many types of media. Media and information literacy is a set of skills that enable a person to access media, analyze media content, create new media messages, reflect on existing media content, and take action with media.
Media literate individuals are better able to understand complex messages from newspapers, magazines, books, radio, television, billboards, video games, music, the Internet, social media, and all other forms of media, as well as produce media messages themselves.
Why is media and information literacy important?
Understanding media and their influence on society and individuals is a necessary skill for everybody. The skills learned for becoming media literate help raise people’s awareness for their culture, their values, and the significance of information and communication. Media systems, societies, and individual human beings are complex and multi-faceted. That’s why media literate people should avoid making quick, simplistic judgments.
Media and information literacy can help people:
- Develop critical thinking skills
- Understand how media messages shape our culture and society
- Identify targeted marketing strategies
- Recognize what the media maker wants us to believe or do
- Name the techniques of persuasion used
- Advocate for changes to the media system
- Recognize bias, spin, misinformation, and lies
- Discover the parts of the story that are not being told
- Evaluate media messages based on our own experiences, skills, beliefs, and values
- Create and distribute our own media messages