Unit 4: What is Media Literacy?

Media literacy to me is the way we perceive technology and we use it everyday. Media literacy as a whole ha changed over the past 20 years because it enhanced through technology which weakened us as well for our communication skills. We are so used to just texting shortened words like “wyd?” or “what r u up to?” which weakens our vocabulary and people start to put “u” in an essay for school rather than just spelling the whole word out because they are so used to the way they text. Media itself made our communication worse as well because we are so used to just texting we barely ever talk on the phone or even know how to hold a conversation face to face. Media literacy can have a very negative effect or a very positive effect with how you look at it. I see both sides the lack of communication and vocabulary is by far a negative effect but there is a positive one as well. The positive side is media literacy as it has advanced through technology within the past few years is by far the internet and having information you need at the snap of your fingers. You can google anyone’s name and you will know everything about their lives within the first 5 minutes of searching them. You will know what they do for a living, where they went to school, where they are from, and even what they had for dinner that night. Pretty scary if you ask me.. but can also be a good thing. Your social media profile says and show a lot about the person you are which is good for employers and your own benefit. Another huge positive side is definitely knowing about whats going on in the world right away. Almost every time something happens it’s immediately on the internet for everyone to see. I think this good for major things in the news such as weather (major storms), the corona virus, politics, or even a famous person that passed recently. These are ways media literacy has improved our society and also have weakened it. Media literacy is getting your point across thoroughly through technology I would say but everyone looks at it differently.