Media and Information Literacy as an Essential Aspect of Our Society

Introduction

Media and Information Literacy (MIL) is defined as the ability to access, analyze, and create media. Also, it is a prerequisite for citizens to realize their rights to freedom of information and expression. Literate means someone who’s able to read and write. When added the words Media and Information, it only means that we are skilled to handle the media. Media refers to various means of communication. In today’s generation, media is becoming very dominant and it is also becoming the number one way to spread news and share information to everyone. Different forms of media have been emerging, and people are becoming dependent on it. But, we still lack so much knowledge regarding this platform. This has caused the rise of Media and Information Literacy. In which people are needed to also be knowledgeable and literate about the media present in our world today. In this essay we will discuss how media and information literacy have become an essential aspect of our society, for it tackles ways on how we can and should be in different media. This will expand our knowledge about our rights and will make us literate about the things we can encounter in the media.

The Importance of Media and Information Literacy

The dominance of media is constantly growing and that is the reason why literacy among media and information is very important. We need this as much as we need to learn how to read and write. According to Andoy (2016), The purpose of being Media and Information Literate is to engage in a digital society. One needs to be able to use, understand, inquire, create, communicate and think critically. Individuals are enabled to interpret and build wise judgment as users of information and media. Further on, becoming skillful creators and producers of information and media messages in their own right through media and information literacy. The value of becoming Media and Information Literate is for us not to be easily deceived with the different things that the media is releasing or spreading. For us not to be deprived of our rights to information and that it can’t be used against us. Also, for us to know how to righteously use media as well. This is also applied vice versa, so that we don’t deceive and deprive others.

Media is accessed by all. Simply because this is open and made for everyone. This means that people with different level of knowledge and different agendas can interact or reach one another. It can be used for different purposes, sometimes exercise misconduct. Media is not really that secure so some people might do wrong and you still don’t have a clue about it. Also, this can be used to degrade others, sometimes use this for crime. The best example is cyberbullying and cybercrime. UNICEF stated that 70% of the youth globally are affected by cyberbullying, digital harassment and online violence. They also stated that some victims of cyberbullying resort to drug and alcohol intake, school cutting, becomes a recipient of poor grades, has low self esteem and sometime lead to suicide. These statistics clearly showed the misuse and ignorance of people in media. We have neglected the rights of one another and the righteous way on how to behave on the internet or other media platforms.

The importance of Media and Information Literacy is very evident yet we don’t push ourselves to be one of the few people who are really literate in the aforementioned. But then Media and Information Literacy is added in school and became one of the righteous things that our Department of Education did. It might look simple but studying this is one way to prevent bad things from happening in the media. This will become a stepping stone to achieving Literacy not only in reading and writing but also in media platforms. According to medialit.org, because of Media and Information Literacy, the needs of students to become wise consumers of media will be supplied by this subject. This brings the world of media into the classroom and connects learning with 'real life' and validates their media culture as a rich setting for learning. This increases the ability and proficiency of students in communication and dissemination of their thoughts and ideas in a wide range of print and electronic media forms. Lastly, By focusing on process skills instead of content information, students gain the power to investigate any message in any media and so are empowered for living all their lives in a media-saturated culture. These goals will surely develop a student’s skills in media and also in critical thinking. MIL will surely lessen the percentage of misconduct or misuse of media because of it being goal-oriented and purpose-driven.

Conclusion

A quote by John Naisbitt stated that “We are drowning in information but starved for knowledge.”. This represents our society today. We are full of information but we don’t study it well. Media and Information Literacy is really a great way to start educating students to think deeply, become process-oriented and not recklessly do things on media. This method will help students become skilled in handling the media. They might also bring this as they grow and help their children become Media and Information literate as well. But, we should also focus on making law regarding the usage of media. As advancements in this platform arise, many things can develop and happen. We should be futuristic and not only educate users but punish those who uses media for bad agendas. Sooner or later media will be more dominant and we should learn how to control this.