There needs to be a revival in our media literacy skills.
Media literacy refers to our ability to analyze and think critically about the media we engage with, whether it be news, websites, social media, or entertainment. In our oversaturated media landscape, where companies and influencers are fighting for our attention, we lack the skills to adequately understand how information is crafted, manipulated, and presented to shape our perceptions.
Even the term “media literacy” has been co-opted and often misunderstood by Internet users as a buzzphrase, much like “gaslighting” or “sensationalization.” Don’t worry—not understanding a reference or lacking the attention span to absorb the meaning of one piece of media doesn’t make you media illiterate.
To avoid sounding pessimistic, I argue media literacy isn’t dead; its importance is just lost on us. Until we re-discover the value of media literacy, it’ll be hard to cultivate skills for smarter media consumption.
Our media is riddled with bias, misinformation, and disinformation. We wouldn’t be as misled if these things were hidden in plain sight, but they’re often professionally hidden or used to win over our attention. It’s up to us to parse through messages in the media, to determine if they’re trustworthy and if there’s more to the picture.
In a video titled, “being a hater and the overexposure paradigm,” YouTuber Mina Le discusses how an overexposure to low-quality media and underexposure to healthy criticism diminish our ability to process information with nuance.
To keep users hooked and happy, social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram are designed only for us to engage with content we like. If we don’t agree with a piece of media or find it too complicated, we disengage by scrolling past or blocking it with one click.
Further, everyone wants their opinion to be heard and to play a role in educating the public, which is why we’re in such an abundance of video-essays, TikTok commentaries, and educational infographics. While these media are worthwhile, they aren’t always representative of reality or even truthful.
Our engagement with media and entertainment prioritizes pleasure and gratification, causing critical thinking to take a back seat. When a message is taken at face-value, people are quick to jump to conclusions and run with the information presented to them without questioning where it comes from or its broader intent.
There’s simply no room for evaluation. It’s no wonder why people are accustomed to such black-and-white thinking.
Being critical of media consumption isn’t always fun. My years spent performing critical analyses in English literature essays, or endlessly dissecting a film scene with convoluted theory is enough to attest to that. If anything, the notion of analysis is exhausting and robs us of the entertaining, escapist function we often look to the media for.
Yet doing these things taught me the necessity of having a critical lens; I wouldn’t have discovered underlying messages and unreliable narrators otherwise. I believe this principle extends to the online world.
We must make more room for nuance in our media consumption habits. It’s not about being overly analytical and skeptical—I enjoy a mindless doomscroll just as much as the next person—it’s about being aware there’s so much more to our media than meets the eye.
Our lives will only become more online from here and it’s time we equipped ourselves with the necessary skills to navigate that.
Katharine is a fourth-year Film and Media and English student and The Journal’s Editorials Editor.
Tags
critical thinking, Media, media literacy, Social media
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