Tuesday, February 1, 2011

What is Media Literacy?

Media Literacy is the ability to identify and understand the messages that are derived from an assortment of mass media. These types range from audio messages from the radio to visual messages on billboards present in advertisements, in television programs, and in print throughout magazines. In today’s world, media literacy is essential to every person as media surrounds daily life and seems to be the center of each individual’s attention, consciously or subconsciously. Though, I think each person’s media literacy is different since there is a great deal of elements required to fully understand every message. So, I wonder how literate, in media, does the average person have to be in order to function through daily life?

I believe that the average man or woman understands the basic use of media to influence others and/or change their opinion on a topic, which is sufficient. However, as I scrolled through a web page specifically for teachers on pbs.org, it was set up to help teachers improve their students’ media literacy. This justifies that our nation needs to obtain a higher understanding of mass media messages to function through daily life since it is embedded in school curriculums. Therefore, if every student is constantly exposed to media messages to increase their media literacy, then this ability is crucial for society today to master.

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/media_lit/getting_started.html

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