A Study on the Role of the Media and Its Effect on the Identity of Muslims (Part 11)
The Importance of Teaching Media Literacy in the Age of Communication
Media literacy, in very general terms, is a skill-based understanding that enables individuals to recognize and distinguish between different types of media and their products.
What is the Use of This Understanding?
In simple terms, media literacy functions like a diet that intelligently guides individuals in discerning what is beneficial and what is harmful; it helps determine what should be consumed and what should not, as well as the appropriate quantity of each substance based on a rational basis. Media literacy can empower audiences to transition from a passive consumption mode into an active, participatory role, allowing them to influence the course of events in their favor.
In other words, media literacy helps us engage with media platforms more intelligently and effectively. Today, beyond educating citizens for a national society, there is a pressing need to prepare them for life in a global society.
Teaching media literacy to citizens in the era of globalization is a broad concept that encompasses media, cultural, social, historical, political, and technological studies. It can be applied to establish better living practices in the information and communication age and plays a significant role in the global community. Media literacy serves as a tool to support citizens against the negative impacts of mass media, providing a framework for accessing, analyzing, evaluating, and producing messages in various forms, from print to the Internet.
Media literacy is considered an essential educational approach in the 21st century, as it fosters an understanding of the role of the media in society and emphasizes the acquisition of skills necessary for research and the expression of personal opinions—skills that are vital for citizens in the communication age.
Media literacy is one of the twelve literacies recommended by UNESCO and other international and national educational institutions. In this article, the foundational aspects of teaching media literacy to citizens are rooted in two primary goals: first, to raise awareness of the importance and undeniable necessity of teaching media literacy in the communication age; and second, to present key points that facilitate informed, thoughtful, and well-planned actions regarding media literacy education and the establishment of an efficient system of citizenship education that meets the needs of globalization in our country.
Media literacy has undergone at least two major waves: the first wave is linked to the popularization of television, which heralded a new era for many thinkers—an era in which human communication and even thought processes were expected to change rapidly and profoundly.
The second, larger and more significant wave emerged with the spread of the Internet. Many traditional boundaries and barriers in the media landscape eroded with the advent of the Internet. Setting up a website and sending an email became affordable and accessible to anyone, allowing individuals to create their own media. As a result, traditional mass media faded or, at the very least, lost much of its former power.
Following the rise of the web and email, the expansion of social networks dealt another blow to traditional mass media—so severe that many analysts predicted their demise and irrelevance. This new media landscape underscored the importance of media literacy for individuals, experts, and governments alike. In this new world, the roles of “news provider” and “news consumer” are no longer distinct; anyone can share or receive information at any time.
It was within this context that “Digital Media Literacy” emerged and evolved as a subcategory of digital literacy. Societies increasingly recognized the urgent need for media literacy education. Consequently, teaching and learning media literacy has become a pressing necessity in the current era, as the media plays a critical and pivotal role in shaping thoughts and ideas.
By admin2
