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Media and Information Literacy

UNESCO supports the development of Media and Information Literacy and Digital Competencies for all to enable people’s ability to engage critically with information, navigate the online environment safely and responsibly and ensure there can be trust in our information ecosystem and in digital technologies. 

Media and Information Literacy provides a set of essential skills to address the challenges of the 21 st century including the proliferation of mis- and disinformation and hate speech, the decline of trust in media and digital innovations notably Artificial Intelligence.

The Global MIL Week

Commemorated annually, the Global MIL week is a major occasion for worldwide stakeholders to review and celebrate the progress achieved towards Media and Information Literacy for All.

Developing resources to empower citizens

Advocating for media and information literacy policies and strategies, mobilizing and connecting media and information literacy communities, promoting innovation and creativity in media and information literacy, facts and figures.

Wide-scale and sustainable Media and Information Literacy training for all is still missing.

Global Media and Information Literacy Week 2021.

on media and information literacy.

trained to integrate media and information literacy in their policies and operations.

Publications

Module 1 : Citizenship, Freedom of Expression and Information, Access to Information, Democratic Discourse and Life-long Learning

• Unit 1: Understanding Media and Information Literacy – An Orientation

Duration: 2 Hours

KEY TOPICS:

• Defining ‘information’ and ‘media’
• Exploring the importance of the media and other information providers
• Describing key learning outcomes of media and information literacy

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this module teachers should be able to:

• Identify key learning outcomes/elements of media and information literacy
• Understand media and information literacy, and its importance and relevance in the lives of students and teachers today
• Explore the roles of media and other information providers such as libraries, archives and Internet
• Explore these roles in a variety of media and information texts

PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES and ACTIVITIES

Multiple roles of media.

Media and other information providers play a central role in information and communication processes. They are one way of communicating information, although their role is much broader than that. For the purpose of the MIL curriculum, media are defined (irrespective of the nature and technologies used) as sources of credible and current information created through an editorial process determined by journalistic values whereby editorial accountability can be attributed to a specific organization or a legal person. To the extent that media are an important part of every society’s communication system, their institutional make-up can mesh with a variety of non-media information providers, such as libraries, museums, archives, Internet information providers, other information organizations and citizens who produce their own content.Media play several roles. They:

• act as channels of information and knowledge through which citizens communicate with each other and make informed decisions
• facilitate informed debates between diverse social actors
• provide us with much of what we learn about the world beyond our immediate experience
• are means by which a society learns about itself and builds a sense of community
• function as a watchdog of government in all its forms, promoting transparency in public life and public scrutiny of those with power through exposing corruption, maladministration and corporate wrong-doing
• are essential facilitators of democratic processes and one of the guarantors of free and fair elections
• are a vehicle for cultural expression and cultural cohesion within and between nations
• function as an advocate and social actor in its own right while respecting pluralistic values

Sourcing Information

The proper use of information made available by media and various information providers depends on people’s abilities to understand their information needs, and to locate, retrieve and evaluate the quality of the information they can access. Today, there is an extremely wide and diverse selection of information material, content, and resources available, particularly on the Internet, varying greatly in accuracy, reliability, and value. In addition, this information exists in a variety of forms (e.g. as text, image or statistic, electronically or in print), that can be made available through online repositories and portals, virtual and real libraries and documentary collections, databases, archives, museums, etc. The most important factor, however, is that the quality of this information can range from ‘very good’ to ‘very bad’.

Before evaluating information sources, it is important to think about what the information is for. This will help you to identify credible information sources. The key questions might be:

What source or what kind of source would be the most credible for providing information in this particular case? Which sources are likely to be fair, objective, lacking hidden motives, showing quality control?

We can think of information as being held by media and other information providers, such as libraries, museums, archives and the Internet. These information providers have a number of roles, including to:

• facilitate teaching and learning processes
• provide access to all types of information (often free of charge, plural, reliable and without restrictions)
• serve as a gateway to information
• promote universal values and civil rights, such as freedom of expression and information
• serve as society’s collective memory
• gather information
• preserve cultural heritage
• Survey the media to find resources or media texts that are examples of the functions listed above. Identify texts that illustrate these roles on a local, national and global level. Survey college/university or public libraries to find books or other resources available which provide information about democracy, other parts of the world, different cultures, social and economic life, etc. Explore questions such as: Who decides on the level of resources that should be allocated to libraries? Who decides which books should be included in the library and which should be excluded? Who decides which books are more important than others? Are libraries serving their purposes? (A similar activity could be organized for museums or archives)
• The media play an important role in helping to encourage the development and building of a nation. Discuss how undue restrictions that might be imposed on media can prevent the media from exercising this function. Think about the content of media in your country. How many different points of view can you find on development, nation building and national interests and from which perspective?
• Search the web to find stories relating to the deliberate destruction of libraries, museums or archives or certain books due to war, ethnic conflicts, etc. How can you verify that this story is true? Given that this is the first unit, teachers may not have been exposed to the requisite skills to answer this question, so should not spend too much time on it but move on to the other questions. How could the destruction of media, libraries, archives and other information providers, resources available and services offered by those institutions affect people, their history or culture? What are some other implications, based on your observation, of such actions?
• What is public demain information? Research how public domain information is treated by two government institutions in your country. Debate the adequacy (or lack thereof) of information provided by these institutions. Are there national policies for how information should be made public? Does access to information laws exist in your country? Are these being used? What are citizens’ entitlements as mentioned in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
• Based on the answers provided from the activity suggested above, indicate the outcomes for media and information literacy (what the media and information literate person should be able to do). What does each individual term mean?
• Make a list of media that are present in the daily lives of students and teachers today. What are the key roles and functions that each of these media perform? What do you think it means to be ‘literate’ when it comes to using the media and other information providers? What knowledge, skills and attitudes are necessary?
• Keep a journal for one day in which you record your daily use and interaction with media and information providers, such as public and private Internet information providers. What patterns emerge in your personal use? How many hours do you spend engaged with media and technology such as the Internet, television or radio? What roles are these media and other information providers playing in your life?
• Take a walking tour of your school or neighbourhood. List the examples of media and other information providers that are present in these environments. Which of the roles listed above do these examples illustrate?
• How would they be informed now?
• How would they communicate news, facts, and events?
• What would happen with the decisions you usually make?
• What would you – personally – most miss in such a situation?
• What would society lose with this kind of problem?
• Write a ‘letter to the editor’ with your conclusions on the value of the media and information in a democratic society.

IMPORTANCE OF MIL FOR CITIZENS

Media and information literacy (MIL) brings together disciplines that were once separate and distinct. MIL is concerned with giving people an understanding of the importance of media and other information providers in order to:

• make informed decisions
• learn about the world around them
• build a sense of community
• maintain public discourse, and
• engage in lifelong learning

Further, MIL should spur citizens to become active producers of information and innovators of media and information products, as well as critical thinkers. MIL should incite them to use new and traditional media for self-expression, creativity and greater participation in their country’s democracy and the global information network. ACTIVITIES

• Consider the characteristics of MIL described in Figure 1 in the Media and Information Literacy Curriculum and Competency Framework for Teachers (Part 1). Discuss each characteristic. Write down what each of these means to you. Do you think this description is complete? What do you think should be included?
• Media literacy
• Library literacy
• Computer literacy
• Freedom of expression literacy
• Internet literacy
• Digital literacy
• News literacy
• Cinema literacy
• Games literacy
• What do you observe about the relationship between and among these individual terminologies or notions of MIL? Write one paragraph describing what would be your rationale for combining media literacy and information literacy as MIL.
• Unit 2: MIL and Civic Participation
• Unit 3: Interactive with Media and Other Information Providers such as Libraries, Archives and the Internet
• Unit 4: MIL, Teaching and Learning

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What is media literacy, and why is it important?

The word "literacy" usually describes the ability to read and write. Reading literacy and media literacy have a lot in common. Reading starts with recognizing letters. Pretty soon, readers can identify words -- and, most importantly, understand what those words mean. Readers then become writers. With more experience, readers and writers develop strong literacy skills. ( Learn specifically about news literacy .)

Media literacy is the ability to identify different types of media and understand the messages they're sending. Kids take in a huge amount of information from a wide array of sources, far beyond the traditional media (TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines) of most parents' youth. There are text messages, memes, viral videos, social media, video games, advertising, and more. But all media shares one thing: Someone created it. And it was created for a reason. Understanding that reason is the basis of media literacy. ( Learn how to use movies and TV to teach media literacy. )

The digital age has made it easy for anyone to create media . We don't always know who created something, why they made it, and whether it's credible. This makes media literacy tricky to learn and teach. Nonetheless, media literacy is an essential skill in the digital age.

Specifically, it helps kids:

Learn to think critically. As kids evaluate media, they decide whether the messages make sense, why certain information was included, what wasn't included, and what the key ideas are. They learn to use examples to support their opinions. Then they can make up their own minds about the information based on knowledge they already have.

Become a smart consumer of products and information. Media literacy helps kids learn how to determine whether something is credible. It also helps them determine the "persuasive intent" of advertising and resist the techniques marketers use to sell products.

Recognize point of view. Every creator has a perspective. Identifying an author's point of view helps kids appreciate different perspectives. It also helps put information in the context of what they already know -- or think they know.

Create media responsibly. Recognizing your own point of view, saying what you want to say how you want to say it, and understanding that your messages have an impact is key to effective communication.

Identify the role of media in our culture. From celebrity gossip to magazine covers to memes, media is telling us something, shaping our understanding of the world, and even compelling us to act or think in certain ways.

Understand the author's goal. What does the author want you to take away from a piece of media? Is it purely informative, is it trying to change your mind, or is it introducing you to new ideas you've never heard of? When kids understand what type of influence something has, they can make informed choices.

When teaching your kids media literacy , it's not so important for parents to tell kids whether something is "right." In fact, the process is more of an exchange of ideas. You'll probably end up learning as much from your kids as they learn from you.

Media literacy includes asking specific questions and backing up your opinions with examples. Following media-literacy steps allows you to learn for yourself what a given piece of media is, why it was made, and what you want to think about it.

Teaching kids media literacy as a sit-down lesson is not very effective; it's better incorporated into everyday activities . For example:

• With little kids, you can discuss things they're familiar with but may not pay much attention to. Examples include cereal commercials, food wrappers, and toy packages.
• With older kids, you can talk through media they enjoy and interact with. These include such things as YouTube videos , viral memes from the internet, and ads for video games.

Here are the key questions to ask when teaching kids media literacy :

• Who created this? Was it a company? Was it an individual? (If so, who?) Was it a comedian? Was it an artist? Was it an anonymous source? Why do you think that?
• Why did they make it? Was it to inform you of something that happened in the world (for example, a news story)? Was it to change your mind or behavior (an opinion essay or a how-to)? Was it to make you laugh (a funny meme)? Was it to get you to buy something (an ad)? Why do you think that?
• Who is the message for? Is it for kids? Grown-ups? Girls? Boys? People who share a particular interest? Why do you think that?
• What techniques are being used to make this message credible or believable? Does it have statistics from a reputable source? Does it contain quotes from a subject expert? Does it have an authoritative-sounding voice-over? Is there direct evidence of the assertions its making? Why do you think that?
• What details were left out, and why? Is the information balanced with different views -- or does it present only one side? Do you need more information to fully understand the message? Why do you think that?
• How did the message make you feel? Do you think others might feel the same way? Would everyone feel the same, or would certain people disagree with you? Why do you think that?
• As kids become more aware of and exposed to news and current events , you can apply media-literacy steps to radio, TV, and online information.

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Information Literacy and Media Literacy for Students and Teachers

A Teacher’s Guide to Media and Information Literacy

What is literacy.

Up until fairly recently, when we used the term ‘literacy’ in a discussion, it would most likely be in reference to the reading and writing of texts.

These days, however, the definition of literacy extends well beyond its once conventional use in reference to words on pages. Today, we commonly talk of various types of literacies, such as financial literacy , digital literacy , or even emotional literacy .

Rather than speak of literacy as exclusively referring to the ability to read and write, it is now more accurate to think of literacy as an ability in a specific area of knowledge.

It’s in this context that we will use the term here. In this article, we will explore media and information literacy , what they are, how they intersect, and how you can approach teaching them in your classroom – either as discrete subjects, or interwoven with other areas of the curriculum.

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The Importance of Media and Information Literacy

The importance of literacy has been well recognized by governments around the world for a for a considerable length of time. Literacy rates have long been used as an indicator of a nation’s development – such is the importance of being able to read and write for a citizen to fully engage as a functioning member of society.

Undoubtedly, we now live in an information age. Daily, we take in huge amounts of information through a vast array of largely digital media. It is essential that our students are empowered to access, organize, analyze, evaluate, and create in this context. To do this successfully, we must help them to become information and media literate.

Media and Information Literacy

If media literacy refers to the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media in all its forms, then information literacy refers to the ability to recognize when information is required, how to locate and evaluate it, as well as the ability to effectively communicate that information in all its forms, both traditional and modern.

We can see here that there is already a significant crossover between the two terms. Not surprisingly, for the sake of convenience, they are often used almost interchangeably.

To help disentangle the concepts, it can be useful to think of information as being the content, with media being the tools by which that content is delivered.

We can also combine these various aspects under the umbrella term Media and Information Literacy , or MIL , though they may also appear as separate disciplines in many syllabuses and curriculum.

Developing the essential abilities listed above, enables our students to engage fully as active citizens by developing their critical thinking and communication abilities. This process begins by grasping the basic concepts of the subject. Let’s take a look at some of the most important of these.

Media and Information Literacy: Basic Concepts

It’s true to say we live in an increasingly connected world and spend more time than ever before exposed to media in all its myriad shapes and forms.

From traditional media formats such as newspapers, printed books, TV, and radio to more recent developments such as email, ebooks, online games, and apps, we have never been more inundated by the media and its messages in our day-to-day lives.

Understanding the basic concepts of media and information literacy will help students to navigate the complexities of this ever-encroaching world.

1. Types of Media

For students to begin thinking seriously about media, they first need to be able to classify media into its various types. Broadly speaking, there are 3 types of media:

i. Print Media

ii. Broadcast Media

iii. New Media

i. Print Media refers, unsurprisingly, to the printed word, that is, media reproduced mechanically via the printing process which is then physically distributed.

ii. Broadcast Media refers to media that is distributed or transmitted to its audience via the airwaves, such as TV and radio.

iii. New Media refers to media that is organized and distributed via the various digital platforms.

A good explainer video on Information literacy for students and teachers

Types of Media: Reinforcement Activity

This is an effective exercise to help students learn to distinguish between these different forms of media. First, brainstorm with the class the different specific examples of media they can think of, for example, newspapers , radio , podcasts, etc. List these on the whiteboard. Then, have students sort the items listed on the whiteboard into one of 3 columns printed on a worksheet as follows:

Media Convergence

As well as understanding these 3 main types of media as defined above, it may arise during discussion that some examples don’t easily fit into one single category. The term media convergence refers to media that coexists in traditional and new media forms.

We can see this clearly in the existence of print and online versions of newspapers, for example, where content can exist in both paper and digital forms. The underlying concept of media convergence is that the various media platforms become more similar over time.

2. The Purpose of Information

Before students begin to do the deeper level work of evaluating information, they should learn to give some thought to the purpose of various forms of information. Drawing out the purpose of the information in the first place will help enormously when it comes to assessing its credibility at a later stage.

There are a number of legitimate reasons for information to be held by media and other information providers such as museums, archives, the internet, and libraries.

These reasons include to:

●     Inform

●     Educate

●     Entertain

●     Gather together

●     Provide access

●     Facilitate teaching and learning

●     Promote values and rights

●     Preserve cultural heritage

Purpose of Information: Reinforcement Activity

This exercise is best undertaken as a group project over a period of time such as a week or two.

Instruct students to gather together a broad range of information and media and perform a survey of each sample to assess the reason behind its creation and/or existence. The reasons listed above as bullet points will provide a good starting point, though also allow for the possibility the students may uncover reasons other than those listed above.

Opening each item to a whole class discussion can be a rewarding way to encourage the sharing of different perspectives on the purpose of each sample.

For higher-level students, on completion of this activity you may wish to engage in a discussion on what restrictions, if any, could justifiably be placed on media and information and in what contexts those would be.

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3. Mass Media and Critical Thinking

With video streaming sites, social platforms, digital billboards, and podcasts, electronic media infiltrates many of our waking hours. And, though we have benefited from this mass and instant communication in our personal and business lives, it poses many challenges for us as individuals.

With 4.2 billion people inhabiting the online world, all sending and receiving innumerable messages, our students need to develop specific strategies to navigate and filter this potentially overwhelming sea of information.

The 5 Filter Questions

Students need to exercise their critical faculties when engaging with media to avoid passively accepting the views and opinions embedded there.

They can begin this process by routinely examining new media in the light of 5 key filtering questions:

1. WHO created this message?

2. WHAT techniques were used to capture the attention?

3. HOW could this message be interpreted by different people?

4. WHY is this message being communicated?

5. WHAT values, views, lifestyles are being expressed or omitted in this message?

These 5 filter questions will help students develop a firm foundation for critically engaging with the various media they are exposed to. They will help students to distinguish between factual reporting and fake news and clickbait from measured critique.

If you are searching for an excellent article on critical thinking be sure to check out this great guide from edgalaxy.com

Mass Media and Critical Thinking: Reinforcement Activity

Be sure to offer students ample opportunities to use the 5 filter questions in the classroom. You can easily achieve this by asking one or more of these questions when discussing a text or viewing a film, for example.

You could also organize the students into small groups and assign them a media item to analyze in reference to the above 5 questions. With lots of practice, students will begin to consider all new information and media in light of these important questions, becoming in the process active rather than passive consumers of information.

4. Representation in the Media

In media and information literacy, the ways in which various groups, communities, thoughts, and ideas are portrayed form an important area of study within the subject.

Investigations into this area will quickly rid students of the idea that media merely reflects the reality of the world around them. Any examination of representation in media quickly reveals that the media re -presents the reality around us as much as reflects it. This examination reveals much about the media and ourselves in the process.

By examining what is presented, what is omitted, and how things are framed, students delve deeper into the attitudes, values, politics, and psychology of the media-makers. They will also shine a spotlight on some of their own perceptions, perspectives, and biases too.

Representation in the Media: Reinforcement Activity

Though examining representation in media can spark classroom discussions on some quite sensitive and even contentious topics, it can be extremely engaging and valuable for students.

While you can explore representation in any number of media, music works very well for many of our young people.

Music is central to much of youth culture. It can inform everything from young people’s attitudes to politics and sex, to the clothes they wear and the way they speak. It can also serve as fertile ground for the examination of how various groups, communities, values etc are represented.

In this activity, allow students to choose a music video to explore. This will usually be best done in small groups to keep the ideas flowing and to allow for some passionate discussion. Students should watch the video, listen to the song, read the lyrics and analyze representations of gender, race, and sexuality etc.

The 5 filter questions mentioned in the previous section can work well here to get the process started. Just be sure students maintain their focus on the central idea of representation as they ask each question.

5. Analyzing Advertising

Advertisements are pretty ubiquitous. Whether we consume old or new media, advertising will likely play a large part in what we engage with.

Indeed, advertisements often serve as the main revenue stream to fund the production of many forms of media. In this regard, they can even be considered to perform a valuable function in assisting in the dissemination of information.

No doubt about it, advertising has come a long way since the early 20th century with the obviousness of its radio jingles and roadside billboards.

Today, advertising comes in ever more subtle and sophisticated guises. At times these can be so understated or indirect that we may not even realise we are being sold to.

From sponsored content masquerading as impartial articles to cleverly placed products attempting to sneak in through the backdoor of our subconscious, the omnipresence and complexity of advertising make this is an important area of study within the subject.

Analyzing Advertising: Reinforcement Activity

With advertising intruding on so much of our lives, finding samples to use for this activity will be like shooting those proverbial barrel-dwelling fish.

For this activity, organise students into small work groups, distribute an advertisement to each group, and then encourage them to analyze how the advertisement works.

Regardless of the media used, encourage the students to look at the advertisement in terms of its emotional appeal, the technical and design components, and who the advertisement is targeted at.

When the groups have had a chance to dissect their advertisements, have them make a brief presentation to the class on what they have learned about how it works.

Video Lesson: How to analyze print media?

In this article, we have provided an introduction to some of the main concepts and ideas that form the core concerns of the subject of Media and Information Literacy. It is, however, by no means an exhaustive list.

Further reflection on some of the topics raised will open up a rich seam of interesting and important issues to explore in the classroom, whether in the form of discrete MIL lessons, or woven into other areas of the curriculum.

The fodder for lessons and learning opportunities within this area, much like media and information themselves, is practically inexhaustible.

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Table of Contents

What is media literacy, what are examples of media literacy, what is information literacy, what are examples of information literacy, the need for media literacy and information literacy in today's world, the importance of media and information literacy, what are the differences between media and information literacy, do you want to build a digital-ready business, what is media and information literacy.

We’re living in the Information Age, a time characterized by an overwhelming amount of content from many different media types, some of them not even having existed at the turn of the 20th century. That's why people today need to increase their media and information literacy.

But what exactly do media literacy and information entail? Are they different from social media literacy or digital media literacy? It appears that this topic can get confusing rather quickly!

That’s why we’re here today. This article explores media and information literacy, giving examples of each form and how they differ, and why they're important and needed.

Let’s begin with media literacy.

As we explore the media literacy meaning, it will sometimes seem that it’s interchangeable with the meaning of information literacy, but they are two different animals. The Aspen Media Literacy Institute came up with this definition in 1992:

“Media Literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media in a variety of forms.”

The term is typically used when discussing education and raising media-savvy children in the 21st century.

Medialiteracynow.org offers us an expanded definition more appropriate for today’s media-saturated environment. Media literacy is the ability to:

• Decode media messages (including the systems in which they exist).
• Assess the influence of those messages on thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
• Create media thoughtfully and conscientiously.

Additionally, media literacy encompasses ten vital skills:

• Identifying fake news: This skill involves reading past the headlines, checking the author’s credentials and the date of the news, finding corroborating sources, and identifying biases
• Using multiple sources: This skill involves checking other sources for the same news story
• Gauging tone and language: This skill entails developing an ear for credible language
• Questioning numbers and figures: Numbers need to be scrutinized as much as words do. Where did they come from? How did people arrive at the figures?
• Understanding images and their effect on the brain: We are a visually oriented species, and we need to teach people how powerful media images can be
• Cultivating multimedia skills: Media comes in many forms today, and we need to be well-versed in as many of them as possible
• Recognizing bias: This skill includes confirmation bias, which involves only looking at sources that confirm the views you already have
• Shaping media ourselves: This skill covers creating rules of engagement and other standards and enforcing them
• Curating information: So much information, so little time! This skill covers effectively filtering, choosing, organizing, saving, and using information gained from the media
• Becoming responsible media creators: This skill promotes the creation of relevant, accurate information

Put simply, media literacy is the ability for people to evaluate and analyze messages conveyed through today's media critically and how they impact us.

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Here are examples of the kinds of media that people today should cultivate literacy in, to one degree or another:

• Video games
• Photographs
• YouTube videos
• News-related websites
• Social media
• Magazines and newspapers

The American Library Association defines information literacy as “…a set of abilities requiring individuals to 'recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.'"

Information literacy requires that people today develop the following skills:

• Awareness of how to engage with today’s digital world
• Finding meaning in the information you discover
• Articulating the kinds of information you need
• Using information ethically
• Understanding the role we can play in communicating in the context of our professions
• Evaluating information in terms of credibility and authority

Additionally, we can identify five components of information literacy:

• Define: Identify the need, question, or problem
• Find: Locate, access, and retrieve the information from whatever sources are necessary
• Evaluate: Assess the information’s credibility. Is it reliable and relevant to your situation?
• Organize: When we look for information, we are often inundated with material. It needs to be organized and compiled
• Communicate: Communicate your newfound information to the appropriate audience in a clear, ethical, and legal manner

This Venn diagram, courtesy of Madison College Libraries , shows the position of information literacy in relation to other forms of literacy. Note the overlap with media literacy!

Here are some examples of information literacy skills:

• Communication : Receiving and relating different types of information, further divided into:
• Critical Thinking:  Evaluating facts to fully understand an issue, problem, or topic and create an effective solution
• Computer Technology: Using computers/the Internet to find the information and determine its validity
• Research: Gathering, analyzing, and interpreting information related to a given topic. This skill is further divided into:
• Attention to detail
• Note-taking
• Problem-solving
• Time management

Look at how life was in the 1920s. Then, people acquired information through just four forms of media: newspapers, magazines, movies, and radio. Perhaps that's what folks mean when they say that life was simpler back in "the old days"!

Push the clock ahead an entire century, and the average person in the 2020s has a dizzying array of media sources. Not only do we still have printed media and radio, but that’s also now supplemented by television, videos, podcasts, blogs, specialized websites, text messages, blogs, vlogs, and the 24-hour news cycle.

Furthermore, for good or bad, technology has advanced to such a point that anyone can create content. All that people need is a laptop, tablet, or mobile phone and some means of recording and presenting their thoughts. Unfortunately, not everyone pays attention to accuracy or ethics. However, thanks to the community-building power of the Internet and social media , like-minded people can now gather and organize into groups. It doesn’t matter if their ideas are grossly misguided or outright wrong; when people collect themselves into an organized unit, it implies that they may have a valid point.

Consequently, today’s technological advances have created an environment where we are inundated on all sides by information, both false and true, 24 hours a day. That’s why we need media and information literacy more than ever today. There’s too much to process today, and we not only have to absorb it all, but we must sift through it all to find what’s true and what’s garbage.

John Adams, the second President of the United States, once said, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." Put another way, as much as we might want to believe otherwise, we can't change reality.

Unfortunately, too many people out there want to do just that. Whether it’s a political position, a belief in the efficacy of vaccines, the existence of conditions such as global warming, or even the state of reality as we know it, there are people on the fringe who will outright deny facts because that information doesn’t jibe with their opinions. What makes this whole situation more frustrating and scarier is that in many cases, we can prove the validity and accuracy of the information.

But that doesn’t matter to some people, who willfully ignore or rationalize specific facts because they don’t like them. And thanks to the Internet and related media, they have the means of expressing these poisonous ideas to impressionable people, misleading them.

That's why we need to ensure that everyone, especially children, becomes proficient with media and information. For example, how many people have thought that a global pandemic was fake news, then got sick and passed away?

Whether we're talking about people's personal lives or a corporation's marketing strategy, it's crucial to have the skills to navigate through the wealth of information out there. Both media and information literacy are essential for all aspects of life, whether personal or professional.

There is one massive difference between media and information literacy. Information literacy describes identifying a need for information and then locating, evaluating, and using the data effectively to solve a problem. On the other hand, media literacy is the ability to access, evaluate, change, and produce media in many different forms.

Information literacy is more related to library science, while media literacy relates more to media content, industry, and social effects. In addition, information literacy covers where to find and evaluate information and how to use it, while media literacy covers how it works and produces its different forms.

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Home — Essay Samples — Information Science and Technology — Digital Literacy — Value of Being a Media and Information Literate Individual

Value of Being a Media and Information Literate Individual

• Categories: Digital Literacy

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Published: Sep 1, 2023

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