What is Media Literacy?

What we know about the media comes from our daily lives. Mass media has become integrated into our lives that sometimes we unconsciously use various forms of it. A study done by Ball State University found that people are intentionally involved in a type of media activity for approximately five hours a day. This is because we are constantly introduced to mass media throughout our day. The ability to understand and acknowledge mass media messages is known as media literacy.

Our society is constantly using a form of media, whether we wake up and check our local forecast or take notice of an advertisement. We are growing in terms of becoming more dependent on mass media as well as becoming more aware of the media. Our instincts tell us to check the weather in the morning in order to figure out what to wear or to check the Internet for updated news in order to keep ourselves in contact with the rest of the world. Because this era is becoming technologically advanced, our media literacy is growing.

As we learn more about the media, we take on a greater knowledge of media literacy by becoming aware of media messages. We are able to see differences between message form, able to distinguish between messages and the messenger, and think beyond advertisements to identify the meaning of the message.

When we are consumed with our own lives, we do not notice by responding to a text or listening to the radio that we are engaged in mass media. As we learn to expand our media literacy, we become aware of the impact of mass media.