What is Media Literacy?

Media literacy is acquired by having an understanding of the mass media world. Since we have a society based around technology, it's hard to escape the media in our daily lives. In fact, an average person spends about 30% of their waking hours in contact with mass media. In addition to that, people spend approximately 6 more hours with mass media while doing something else. A lot of time seems to be absorbed by the media, but the truth is that many would not be able to live a modern life without it.

Not only does media include turning on the television for the latest news broadcast, but it also includes checking your cell phone for texts, may it be personal or business. Without television, newspaper, phone, radio and a range of other things, it would be nearly impossible to stay informed in our world today.

While mass media keeps us up to date, it also keeps us entertained. We have grown immensely since the 1400's, when the people relied on themselves for their own entertainment. Nowadays, it's as easy as flipping through a magazine or turning up the radio.

Another large, and sometimes discrete, part of mass media are advertisements. Whether it's a commercial on the television or radio, or a series of billboards as you're driving down the highway, advertisements seem to be everywhere. But, our media literacy grows when we obtain more media awareness. When we are familiar with the messages that are being sent to us, it becomes easier to detect what the real meaning is.

If you take a step back from daily life and look at the media that surrounds us, it is easy to see that it's nearly inescapable. With a world built around mass media, media literacy is an important virtue.