In our world today, from morning until evening we are surrounded by different means
and devices which can easily connect us to the online world. And rightly said, it is a
world quite different from this physical world, with its advantages and challenges.
Media according to the Oxford Dictionary is “the main means of mass communication
that includes broadcasting, publishing, and the internet”. We can attest to the fact that
the internet has gained more popularity and usage compared to its counterparts.
Nonetheless there are different people who still believe that they have read a book only
if they are able to flip its pages with their hands, and smell the scent of paper. And
others trust in listening to the radio stations and watching TV programs that have
existed for some good years now.
Most times we tend to choose the programs that we are interested in, but do we really
acquire the desired knowledge and message as well? In a great sense we may see that
we choose the program but the content we receive is determined by the producers
based on their intention for passing on that message. Using traditional media as
compared to surfing on the internet for things to watch, read and programs to interact
with are quite different. While browsing on the internet we often times get suggestions
of reels, for example, which we might be interested in to watch or articles which we
might be interested in reading.
There is a time when one holiday morning I had decided to check what was online and
at first there were good reels according to my preference which were popping up.
However, after watching a couple of them, I received one that showed an accident, and
then as I continued scrolling more death related reels kept popping up. With the hope
that something good, funny or lively would pop up, I kept on scrolling, and it was only
after an hour of watching death related reels when I discovered that firstly, I had spent
more than an hour watching reels and because they were death related, I was feeling
quite low and sad naturally. It took some effort on my part to pick up from this sad
mood and lighten up again. On the other hand, I have been quite interested in learning
how to cook different dishes, and when a reel I had come across on a cooking channel
finished playing, more similar reels came my way and by the end of the day I had
gathered a good number of recipes which I had then planned to try out and use them to
give a treat to my community members.
In the quest for striking a balance in my usage of the media I came across a video
produced by Media Literacy Now which presented a couple of questions that can help us
to gain media literacy skills. There said in the use of media one should be able to ask
these five questions; who created the message? What creative techniques are used to
attract my attention? How might different people understand this message differently
from me? What lifestyles, values, and points of view are represented in, or omitted from
this message? Why is the message being sent?
If and when we are able to begin responding to these guiding questions with the content
that we consume through the media, we will have began gaining Media literacy skills.
And in so doing we may not suffer from some effects like the fear of missing out
(FOMO), consumerism, media addiction, and following dangerous challenges, among
others. We are not only responsible for our own Media usage and literacy, but we are
also encouraged to go out and assist those who are still vulnerable and Media illiterate,
so that the media space may be a safe space for us all, with plenty of benefits to be
utilised.