Blog Post 4
What is media literacy?
This is the media of delivering messages and disseminating news to the masses. This could be print media, animation, infographics, podcasts, blogs etc. The media being used has a certain way that the message has to crafted fro impact on the consumers and this could be negative or positive, most of the time hoping for the latter, but you want the graphic ‘look and feel’ of a website.
Why is it important?
Media literacy is important because of the modern day technology and how media plays a big part in our live everyone needs to be educated on this topic. Everyone’s level of information literacy and fluency needs to be elevated. There is always an increase in demand on our ability to access information efficiently and effectively whether at school, work or at home. Evaluating information critically and competently, and using this information accurately and creatively is important.
Why is it dismissed?
Humans are creatures that survive on confirmation bias. We generally move in circles and seek opinion from sources that share the same views as us. Hence we choose the media that does the same and reassures our thinking. We rarely listen to news channels that we disagree with. The onus is on us as people to encourage each other to find media that changes or challenges our perspective on issues.
Why should you aim for varied views but the factual consensus in your PLN?
Different perspectives matter in PLN. This helps to improve your views and intellectual capacity to challenge certain topics and be more diverse when engaging in discussions. We can have more learning opportunities in various fields. There are billions of people on this earth and we interact with millions in our lifetime. The art of negotiation is really interesting. We are engaged in negotiation from the moment we wake up, initially with ourselves on deciding what to wear, have breakfast or not, take public transit or drive yourself. And then as the day goes on, we are negotiating at the traffic light, on the sidewalks and in office. This is just a small piece on what the brain goes through and we need to keep it engaged and exercising it by having more intellectual conversations.
What are the benefits of being in the public eye and having a PLN?
Media literacy and being the public eye can create for a dangerous playground. There is a large portion of the world’s population that have not received education on media literacy. This section will not understand its importance and impact on daily living. However there many benefits of having a PLN and these include:
- You’re encourage to think critically.
- I know how to create and monetise my own content and be cognisant enough to realise that you can generate revenue from anything.
- You need to verify information and use many lenses in your critical analysis.
- I know how to share information responsibly.
- Be aware of social issues that plague us and be educated enough to participate in broader discussions.
Other resources:
- https://www.wildcat.arizona.edu/article/2020/12/o-editorial-media-literacy
