Media literacy is the ability of the individual to find, analyze, and react to the information that is presented to the public on a daily basis. The European Comission of Media defines media literacy as "the ability to access the media, to understand and critically evaluate different aspects of the media and media contents and to create communications in a variety of contexts." (European Commission Media) One's ability to go through the media that they recieve and then ask questions and analyze this information determines literacy ability.
In today's constantly connected world, the individual is bombarded with informations. It is the responsibility of the reciever to go through this information and determine its value. Information presented through outlets such as commercials and public relations can be misleading and sometimes even false. As technology progresses, we recieve more information faster and analyizing this information becomes more difficult and also more important.
Media education has become a hugely important factor for today's media consumer. Education must begin at a very young age to prevent consumers from being taken advantage of by misleading information. Training individuals to become competent consumers of media and to practice healthy media consumption practices is a major issue worldwide. Without proper education, an individual will be left behing in a media-driven world.
http://ec.europa.eu/culture/media/literacy/index_en.htm
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