Media Literacy

What is media literacy? Defined as "possessing the knowledge to be competent in assessing messages carried by mass media" or, in simpler terms, the ability to figure out what a mass media message is trying to tell you. As our society progresses more and more into the technological era, this ability becomes more and more important. In addition, media literacy does not transcend time periods, an example given is Thomas Jefferson, though brilliant in his time, would be completely aloof in today's modern day of cell phones and the internet. One measure of a persons level of media literacy is their ability to differentiate between different kinds of messages. For example, a person has to be able to tell the difference between a message between them and one other person or a small group of people and a message that can be seen by anyone. Like on "facebook" when a person posts on another's wall, expecting only the other person to be able to read it and not realizing the information becomes public knowledge as soon as it's sent. Another is the ability to know what the limitations of a certain media and knowing how to use each media to its advantages. You wouldn't try to show off your music collection by listing the song titles and artist on a piece of paper when you could burn the actual songs onto CDs so people could actually listen. Media literacy, though not taught in schools, is one of the most important things people in this generation need to know, up there with being able to read and drive a car.