Media Literacy and Its Importance

   

            When thinking about media and literacy as separate concepts, many ideas come to my mind. Media refers to all the means of mass communication, for example: television, radios, newspapers, etc. The term literacy is more obvious, it is the ability to read and write. When these two terms combine to create media literacy, its meaning becomes very clear after we defined each separately. Media literacy is the ability to understand, interpret, evaluate, and create media. It is more than a process; it reaches every part of our lives.

            Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media. It is the ability to understand and evaluate the meaning of symbols transmitted through media. Many parents think of this as a thread for children. It is impossible to protect children from the impact that media literacy has in their lives. What we can do, as educators and parents, is to teach our children how to approach this. It is important to help children think critically when they encounter it. This will help them control the impact it has on their vulnerable minds and take control over the situation.

            Now days, it is important to help children develop skills to know how to analyze critically everything that has to do with media literacy. That is a reason why this skill has become a part of standards used in all classrooms of every state. This standard reads: “1. Understands the main idea or message in visual media (e.g., graphics).”  It can be applied to language arts, social studies, and many other subjects. It can become a way to use critical thinking skills and practice them.

            By using these skills, children can develop many other skills. One of them is to think critically. This helps children know the real meaning behind something they found in any type of media. In addition, it helps them identify marketing strategies. Children are always exposed to marketing. When they are left alone watching TV, advertisements are mixed with their favorite shows and they do not even know it. Then, children are bombarded with advertising information that makes them loose focus of what they were doing or may want. Overall, these skills can be enhanced through the use of critical thinking on media literacy.

            Media literacy can be an ally or a thread to parents and teachers. It is our responsibility to take advantage of this and to turn it into a learning opportunity. We cannot prevent our children to be bombarded with information. On the other hand, we can equip them with skills that will help them dodge the wrong information. 

Resources:

Visual Literacy

Why is Media Literacy Important?

What is Media Literacy?