The Role of Media Literacy

Image by iStock/axel2001

What is Media Literacy?

Media literacy is a term that describes a set of skills needed in order for individuals to access, understand, and decode media messages. This involves critical thinking skills, as well as having an understanding of how messages shape who we are and how information bias works. Media literacy does not just involve the consumption of media but the creation of it as well, which comes in a variety of forms and often combines text, images, video, or sound. 

Why is Media Literacy Important?

These skills are more important now than ever before in the 21st Century. It is estimated that the average person consumes over 7.5 hours of media in a day. What we know about the creators of media is that very few companies are in charge of a large percentage of the media we consume daily. According to Tech Startups 37 years ago 50 companies controlled American media but today 6 "media giants" control 90% of our media - what we watch, listen to, and read. This means that we need to have careful awareness of what we consume and know how to analyze the messages coming at us all day long. Analyzing media means we need to ask ourselves: who is sending me this message and what are they trying to sell me - Products? Ideologies? Our students need to be taught these skills in order to make informed decisions as consumers as well as safely navigate the world. 

 The Fight Against Fake News

The spread of misinformation on Twitter and Facebook has been a huge topic of conversation in the last couple of years. Between Donald Trump and Covid-19, we've had our fair share of drama when it comes to media literacy. Some say media illiteracy contributed to more deaths related to the coronavirus. Elon Musk's recent  purchase of Twitter (for 44 billion dollars) has rightfully garnered a lot of strong reactions from people and has contributed to this conversation of misinformation. Some worry that Musk will allow Trump to return to Twitter, which opens up the debate about how this platform helped him influence the American people and ultimately win the presidential election. Others worry that with Musk's claim to lesson free speech restrictions that harassment will become rampant. Twitter has has its fair share of problems over the years but it's still a powerful social media tool that I hope to continue to use as a professional and educational tool. Elon Musk's purchase of the platform further emphasizes the need for media literacy and that these are essential lifelong skills for all consumers and users of digital spaces.

Hobbs' 5 Competencies

Renee Hobbs is an educator, researcher, and author of numerous books on this topic. She is a huge advocate for educating students in digital and media literacy, which she defines as "a constellation of life skills that are necessary for full participation in our media-saturated, information-rich society." She created a framework that helps break down media literacy skills. 

Here are her "5 Competencies" summed up:  

1. Access: Students need to be able to effectively find and share appropriate information using digital tools.
2. Analyze: Students use critical thinking to analyze the message and credibility of the media. 
3. Create: Students use creativity and show competence in using digital tools to generate media.
4. Reflect: Students reflect on the messages of digital media and their impact. 
5. Act: Students become active global citizens, communicating and acting in the larger community to share information and solve problems. 

Image Copyright Renee Hobbs

I really appreciate how Hobbs' has laid out this logical progression of media literacy skills. When I read about the 5 competencies I felt inspired to start building the foundational skills in my K-1 students so that one day they will be able to become global citizens and take action through media literacy and even challenge the status quo.