Media Literacy

          What is Media Literacy? How does it affect citizens? Media Literacy is the practice of turning consumers into thinkers and creators of media. It is important for citizens to ask themselves with the media, who is it targeting, what interests does it represent and what are they trying to have the audience purchase?

Media can be found in social network sites, movies, TV shows, YouTube videos, newspaper articles and online blogs. It’s important for citizens to know which articles and sites are reliable and ethical.

            There are a lot of news articles and advertisements recently appearing on Facebook. It is interesting to read the information in the posts. Some of the posts, appear entirely true, but after analyzing the information and looking up for the credibility, it turns out the advertisement is false.

            There was an article about the “Yellow Stone Volcano” on the verge of erupting. I remember reading the news article on Facebook. It seemed true and actually occurring. It wasn’t until I asked myself “why haven’t I heard this on the local news, on the radio or through any other credible news sources?” I search on Google for “Yellow Stone Volcano Erupting” and quickly found all of these other sites to have information on the Volcano. I almost believed the information, until I noticed the URL addresses.

The information and website was a hoax. If I didn’t know the steps to take to researching the website and thinking about the information being given, I could have spread false information or looked media illiterate to others.

Another example is the weight –loss add featuring “Beyoncé.” This is an advertisement that explains Beyoncé’s top two secrets of losing weight in a month. It is top secret and Beyoncé has sued the media company for giving out her secrets.

From the headline it’s a hook for citizens that are feeling over weight and want to lose weight immediately. The advertisement seems real, has credible sources, doctor’s approved the information and product that is trying to be sold. It also has other citizens with before and after pictures plus their testimonial video of how the product works.

As soon as I saw the advertisement ended with a purchase for the product, I knew this could be a hoax. I only knew this from my parents telling me about media literacy when I was younger after getting junk mail.

It’s important for students to understand what is in advertising and how it is created. Students need to analyze, evaluate, ask what effects the advertisement has on others, what is the audience being targeted and the message that is coming across.

A great website for teachers and students to use is teachinctrl.org. This website gives teachers lesson plans on “teaching Digital Citizenship.” There are many topics that are discussed through this website. One of them is Media: Between the Lines, this lesson gives two videos for students to watch. One is on the five facts for advertisement and the other is a tutorial video of real photos and enhanced (photo shop) photos. These videos are introductions to the lesson and activities.

          Media surrounds our way of life and influences us. Students need to be aware of the influence it could have and understand what to look for. Some students could be the creators of this media. It is important for them to remember what is the message they are sending and how will others interpret it.

            For further study, I plan on using the teachinctrl.org website with my students and children. I would like to introduce this video to more parents and have them be aware of media literacy. As a team we can make sure our students are media literate and a safe digital citizen.