Media Literacy

Media Literacy: An understanding of mass media and how they construct meaning.

(Campbell, R., Martin, C. R., & Fabos, B. (2017). Media & Culture Mass Communication in a Digital Age (Eleventh ed.). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s.)

There is a lot of information out there on the internet.

Yesterday, on Oct. 9th, 2018, Google had a live keynote where they announced their latest product lineup, to include a new phone, a new google tablet, and a home hub station that I really didn’t care about. Within a few hours, I saw at least 10 different articles from 10 different sources discussing the products, each with their own spin/take on what they got from the announcement. That’s a lot of viewpoints and a lot of facts, and they often contradicted or tried to “one-up” each other.

That was only for one company’s product showcase. Now, apply that same example to pretty much every major (and minor) world event happening every day. It’s easy to become jaded and to shut it out or just not care.

To be honest, for a while, I did just that. I didn’t follow the news, I didn’t care about current events and I couldn’t be bothered to hear the latest celebrity gossip. To a certain degree I still don’t.

But there’s an important difference between a total media blackout and utter cynicism versus a filtering of information using a critical eye. Media literacy is a good term to put to that process.

I’ve learned that I don’t have to shut out the world to avoid all the garbage that litters my info-sphere. I just need to be more discerning and focused in what I want to learn. (There’s a whole different issue about the duty of an individual to stay well-informed but that’s a black hole for another time.)

By analyzing, interpreting and evaluating what I’m reading from different sources, I’m able to more clearly define and identify the truth and the facts of topics that interest me. When I look at these stories, I can identify the major players, the key events and the talking points that correlate across multiple sources. Typically, if I don’t see something stated in at least two other places, it’s usually a good reason to doubt what something is saying.

It’s like if you want to buy a car. Most people don’t just walk onto a lot and purchase the first car they see (if you do, you’re much braver than I am). People look at reviews, they test-drive them, they visit multiple dealerships and often bring friends along to get another perspective. At the end of most car purchases, people feel assured that they’ve made a good decision, because a car is an incredibly important part of their lives. Why should your consumption of information to affect your world view be any different?

Personally, by using the critical analysis process, I find myself more at ease. I’m more confident in knowing what I’m reading and learning about is more likely to be accurate and true. And in a world of uncertainty and misinformation, it helps me better realize where I stand.

Being media literate is not just important to understanding the news of today, but also a solid defense against the encroaching feeling of exhaustion and fatigue that most people feel when they look at the open floodgates of information.