Why is media literacy important

Media literacy helps individuals understand information outside of media as well. Andrea Quijada, the former executive director of Media Literacy Project and former member of Federal Communication Commission Consumer Advisory Committee, lists how media literacy can further benefit people:. The International Foundation of Library Associations and Institutions recommends a few key topics to think about when consuming media. Red flags to be aware of when thinking about these key topics will also be addressed in each section.

It is important for you to understand the source that a piece of media is coming from. The best way to learn about a news source is to click away from the story and visit the main site. From there you should be able to figure out the mission statement of the organization and see if there is reliable contact information. Just as every corporation has their biases, so do authors. It is equally important to research the author of the material as it is researching the organization itself. Another way of looking for more information on an author is to type their name into a search engine and see what results appear.

With the internet, anyone with an idea and an online connection can become a producer of media through a website or via social media. We live in an era of media saturation. Here are some statistics that put hard numbers to what most people already instinctively know.

Even news hours on major cable networks can include 16 commercials every hour. And it climbs even higher when watching sports or prime time television.

It helps to navigate a media-saturated world when you have learned to always ask and hopefully answer two questions: What is the intent of the message and who created it? For teachers, they can play a significant role in helping students understand the differences in media outlets, the messages they receive and ethical methods for producing their own media.

Fresno Pacific University offers a number of courses in media literacy for teachers that can eventually lead to college credit. The benefits of media literacy for students are multiple. First and foremost, media literacy helps students become wiser consumers of media as well as responsible producers of their own media. Along those same lines, teaching media literacy helps to foster critical thinking in students.

This type of thinking can eventually become second nature, which will help them in many areas as they grow older. Here are a few tips that come from their own intuition! One of our goals at XQ is to help students become original thinkers. Thinkers who can make sense of conflicting knowledge, create ideas despite ambiguous and new situations, and critically analyze from different perspectives.

Across the nation, XQ schools are learning how to give students access to tools and resources as well as the skills to properly navigate the challenging media landscape. Here are some quick snapshots of how they are accomplishing just that! Crosstown High School teaches students to be critical readers. One way they do this is through meaningful and engaging projects.

For example, this year students examined immigration policies, tweets from President Trump, and documents from the Iranian Embassy to understand diverse perspectives and validity of sources.