Media Literacy in the Emergence of the Digital Society

       As modern technology develops, people become more dependent to it, to the point that they can't can't live without it. Meanwhile, alternative facts, fake news, scams and clickbait become rampant in the digital world. People need to develop a high level of media literacy to be able to deal with millions of information online. Media literacy is a key for human and societal empowerment.

    In this blog, we will learn how to be a responsible, accountable, and reliable media consumer by possessing the different media literacy skills. Through media literacy, we will not just be knowledgeable about what the media give us; we will also be active and responsible media consumers, who are not just able to access the media but are able to analyze, evaluate, and create media as well. But first, let us learn what are the common problems to encounter in the digital world.

   Fake news

    

      Fake news is a result of abundant digital culture, wherein social networks connect people in like-minded groups, and prioritize their sharing of information and support each other’s expression. Certain groups who is behind these fake news are able to control alternative media platforms for greater reach, share spectacular and sensational information, and discredit mainstream media and reporting that goes against their views, values, and ideologies.

Recognizing and Combatting Fake News Story

1. Read the story, not just the headline.

Just looking at the headline without reading the full text then spreading it is a no no for everyone. A media literate individual thinks critically, understands the bias, and make accurate and reliable decisions about the media they consume and spread.

2. Verify the story through other credible sources.

Thinking critically involves asking yourself a few essential and relevant questions instead of simply taking a story at face value. The first question you should ask is, "How do I know this is true?“ Additionally, you must look for two or more reputable and reliable sources to verify a story before sharing it to prevent the spreading of fake news.

3. Ask yourself about the purpose of the content.

A reader's role doesn't come with just reading. A reader must be responsible enough to check if what he/she is reading is factual, with reliable sources. Social media platforms can help by offering users better tools to identify what you're reading.

4. Check both sides of the story.

If a piece of news aligns with your general views, see what you can find online that supports the opposite side of the issue. If you find a number of well-sourced article on the other side, you might need to review the original article with a fresh perspective. Fake news story often only present one side of the story.

5. Search if other news outlets are reporting it.

It is never wrong to check things out, especially when the news that you’re reading seems to be unbelievable. News outlets produce news every time to update us, the citizens, about the happenings in the country and in the world.

6. How does the story make you feel?

If the story makes you feel angry or frightened, be careful. Fake news stories often use your emotions to try to influence what you believe. Remember that news should be objective, not subjective.

7. Think before you share.

A media literate individual will assess and analyze the media messages that he/she read especially when it came online. It is essential to evaluate a news content first before sharing it to other people to prevent misinformation.

·         Alternative Facts

    Alternative fact is also knows as falsehoods, untruths, delusions. This is the opposite of reality (delusion), or the opposite of truth (untruth).  Alternative facts seen in media are often accepted as truthand  will just be stated false if real facts and information can be sought out and proven. 

Recognizing Alternative Facts

        Recognizing alternative facts is just the same in recognizing fake news. As an individual, we should be responsible in our media consumption. It is not good to always blame the media; develop a more mindful media consumption and be knowledgeable enough in the media system.

     Scams

     Scams are dishonest schemes that are made to take advantage of unsuspecting people to gain a benefit (such as money, or access to personal details). Scams became widely known due to the growth of online services and internet use.

Types of Scams

1.       Attempts to gain your personal information

Scammers use all kinds of sneaky approaches to steal your personal details. Once obtained, they can use your identity to commit fraudulent activities such as using your credit card or opening a bank account.

2.       Buying or selling

Scammers prey on consumers and businesses that are buying or selling products and services. Not every transaction is legitimate.

3.       Dating & romance

Scammers take advantage of people looking for romantic partners, often via dating websites, apps or social media by pretending to be prospective companions. They play on emotional triggers to get you to provide money, gifts or personal details. 

4.       Fake charities

Scammers impersonate genuine charities and ask for donations or contact you claiming to collect money after natural disasters or major events.

5.       Investments

Scammers have invented all sorts of fake money-making opportunities to prey on your enthusiasm and get hold of your cash.

6.       Jobs & employment

Jobs and employment scams trick you into handing over your money by offering you a ‘guaranteed’ way to make fast money or a high-paying job for little effort.

7.       Threats & extortion

Scammers will use any means possible to steal your identity or your money – including threatening your life or 'hijacking' your computer. 

8.       Unexpected money

Scammers invent convincing and seemingly legitimate reasons to give you false hope about offers of money. There are no get-rich-quick schemes, so always think twice before handing over your details or dollars.

9.       Unexpected winnings

Don't be lured by a surprise win. These scams try to trick you into giving money upfront or your personal information in order to receive a prize from a lottery or competition that you never entered.

•       Clickbait

Facebook describes clickbait this way: “‘Clickbait is when a publisher posts a link with a headline that encourages people to click to see more, without telling them much information about what they will see.”

A clickbait is made to capture one’s curiosity gap,” – the part of the brain that piques our interest so we just have to click on that link. Some of this kind of post may be harmless but we must remember that every click is recorded by someone, somewhere. Because of these, Facebook and savvy marketers track those clicks very carefully indeed, using complicated algorithms to see which headlines generate the most traffic.

There are three different types of Clickbait:

1. Extreme feelings or negativity – both positive and negative and divide people (example: Turns out, Abercrombie and Fitch are right for hating fat people.)

2. Cliffhanger or curiosity gap - most powerful

3. How-to headlines - promise a simple, step-by-step solution our overworked, over stressed minds (example: How to Convince Your Parents to Buy You Anything)

Responding to Clickbait

1. Remember the first rule of the internet: “Never click on unfamiliar links.”

2. Don’t take the bait. Stay away from promotions of “exclusive,” “shocking” or “sensational” footage. If it sounds too good to be true, it is probably a scam.

3. Hover over a link to see its true destination. Before you click, mouse over the link to see where it will take you. Don’t click on links leading to unfamiliar websites.

4. Don’t trust your friends’ taste online. It might not actually be them “liking” or sharing links to photos. Their account may have been hacked. But it may also be “clickjacking,” a technique that scammers use to trick you into clicking on something that you would otherwise ignore.

These problems would not easily control you if you are media literate active citizens. Let us now learn what media literacy is, its importance and how it can help us when it comes to fake news, scams, alterative facts and clickbait.

Defining Media Literacy

•       Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media in a variety of forms (1992 Aspen Media Literacy Leadership Institute).
•    Media provides framework to access, analyze, evaluate, create and participate with messages in a variety of forms – from print to video to the Internet. Media literacy builds an understanding of the role of media in society as well as essential skills of inquiry and self-expression necessary for citizens of a democracy (cited from Center for Media Literacy).
•       Media literacy helps citizens to not be controlled by their interpretation of different media contents because this enhances us to be become competent, critical and literate in all media forms.
•       A person doesn’t need to memorize facts or statistics about the media to become media literate but rather learn to raise the right questions about what you are watching, reading or listening to. Len Masterman, the acclaimed author of Teaching the Media, calls it “critical autonomy” or the ability to think for oneself.

Key Concepts of Media Literacy

1.  All messages are constructed

    Media products are created by individuals who make conscious and unconscious choices about what to include, what to leave out and how to present what is included. These decisions are based on the creators’ own point of view, which will have been shaped by their opinions, assumptions and biases – as well as media they have been exposed to.

Ask:

•       Who created this media product?

•       What is its purpose?

•       What assumptions or beliefs do its creators have that are reflected in the content?

2. People use their individual skill, beliefs, and experiences to construct their own meanings from messages

        The meaning of any media product is not created solely by its producers but is, instead, a collaboration between them and the audience – which means that different audiences can take away different meanings from the same product. Media literacy encourages us to understand how individual factors, such as age, gender, race and social status affect our interpretations of media.

Ask:

•       How might different people see this media product differently?

•       How does this make you feel, based on how similar or different you are from the people portrayed in the media product?

3. Media have commercial implications

             Most media production is a business and must, therefore, make a profit. In addition, media industries belong to a powerful network of corporations that exert influence on content and distribution. Questions of ownership and control are central – a relatively small number of individuals control what we watch, read and hear in the media.

Ask:

•       How will it help someone make money?

•       How does this influence the content and how it is communicated?

•   If no commercial purpose can be found, what other purposes might the media product have (for instance, to get attention for its creator or to convince audiences of a particular point of view).

•       How do those purposes influence the content and how it’s communicated?

4. Media have social and political implications

      Media convey ideological messages about values, power and authority. In media literacy, what or who is absent may be more important than what or who is included. These messages may be the result of conscious decisions, but more often they are the result of unconscious biases and unquestioned assumptions – and they can have a significant influence on what we think and believe.

As a result, media have great influence on politics and on forming social change.

Ask:

•       Who and what is shown in a positive light? In a negative light?

•       Why might these people and things be shown this way?

•       Who and what is not shown at all?

•       What conclusions might audiences draw based on these facts?

5. Each medium has different characteristics, strengths, and unique language of construction

         The content of media depends in part on the nature of the medium. This includes the technical, commercial and storytelling demands of each medium: for instance, the interactive nature of video games leads to different forms of storytelling – and different demands on media creators – that are found in film and TV.

Ask:

•       What techniques does the media product use to get your attention and to communicate its message?

•       In what ways are the images in the media product manipulated through various techniques (for example: lighting, makeup, camera angle, photo manipulation)?

•       What are the expectations of the genre (for example: print advertising, TV drama, music video) towards its subject?

Four Important Skills that Help the Viewers/Readers Understand the Meaning:

1. Accessing the media.

                The ability to physically access content through different delivery platforms; this requires an ability to manipulate those platforms where content might be found.

2. Analyzing content.

                To understand what it is one is seeking, how to request it and what it is one is receiving.

3. Ability to evaluate messages.

                To evaluate critically the value of the content being received – particularly important in an informational context.

4. Ability to create media for self-expression and communication.

Media Literacy Goals

•       Analyze

•       Identify tools media use to communicate

•       Interpret explicit messages in a media text

•       Create

•       Utilize these tools in the creation of a media text

•       Recognize how deliberate choices can shape a text’s message

Who is the media-literate active citizen?

•       As a receiver:

•       An independent thinker, who actively looks for, confronts, and synthesizes multiple perspectives on information delivered by the media, develops critical opinions and attitudes, and exerts their citizen rights accordingly.

•       As a sender:

•       An individual committed to a diversified forms of responsible social engagement through shared media

•       According to Hobbs (2010),  a media-literate active citizen reflect on one’s own conduct and communication behavior by applying social responsibility and ethical principles. Additionally, a media-literate individual take social action by working individually and collaboratively to share knowledge and solve problems in the family, workplace and community, and by participating as a member of a community.

The Importance of Media Literacy

1. If you have media literacy skills, we are able to free our minds.

2. We are able to make our own judgements and choices.

3. We are able to express our own views creatively and effectively.

4. Being media literate means being able to access, analyze, and evaluate information, which we receive through media.

5. Being media literate means being able to create media messages and to use the technology tools available to us.

6. When we possess media literacy skills, we think critically and speak confidently.

7. Media literacy is the essence of having the ability to both enhance and protect our freedom.

       We are all aware of the technological advancements in our society. Almost everything develops: that includes not just the technology, but also the information that we are getting from the media – either print, television, radio, or Internet. We cannot also deny the fact that we are getting so engaged in the digital world. We use our gadgets everyday to be informed in many ways. From news, updates, to the information that we needed, and to stay connected to our friends, relatives, and acquaintances that are far away from us through the different social media platforms. The media has helped us in many ways. Some of us depend on it. Some of us cannot live a day without it. That isn't a bad thing, though, but as media consumers, we must be media literate to be able to avoid danger. To be media literate is to be a responsible media consumer and creator as well. Let us all be active media consumers! It is not too late to learn about media literacy and be an accountable citizen.