Media is a ubiquitous part of our daily lives, so integrated that we cannot live without being affected by it. What we watch shapes our perception on topics, it changes our behaviors, and it has become a major part of our culture. Research from the National Center for Health Statistics from July 2021 – December 2023 revealed that teenagers from the ages of 12-17 spend four or more hours on their screen daily, with Black non-Hispanic teens being the most likely to exceed that time and Hispanics trailing at a close second at 52.8%. In today’s world, media literacy is essential, not only for navigating through the pool of misinformation in our media but for also understanding how the content we watch shapes our views. As a minority myself, I have been influenced by the media and understand how easy it is to be blind to the content that I am consuming daily. In this paper, I will discuss the importance of media literacy and explore why it is crucial that we understand what media literacy is and how we can challenge these influences, especially in a community that is often misrepresented.
At every corner of our lives, media has a presence, through mass communication like tv, phones, and radios now mixed with mass self-communication like social media. This level of exposure makes the influence of media much harder to ignore. These forms of media do much more than just entertain us, they allow us to connect with friends and family around the globe, fostering a sense of community anywhere we are. An article in the Annual Review of Physiology found that “younger adults strongly prefer more arousing, violent, and frightening media” (Valkenburg, peter, and Walther 320) which is a trend that calls for worry since research links this kind of media to increased aggression and desensitization. Between the link to aggression and the research done by the National Center for Health Statistics that found that teenagers from ages 12-17 now spend an average of four hours on their phones daily, showing the grip that media has on their life, the two aren’t much of a good mix. This constant connection influences the way we behave and even our language, viral trends and new slang words often get translated into real life and recreated especially by our youth. All the notifications and algorithms specifically picked for us keep us hooked to our phones and we get addicted to the short-term content, distracting us from learning and real-world problems. When we recognize how the media shapes our lives, it lays the platform for us to ask the next question, what can we do about it?
Media literacy, as defined by the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE), is the ability to encode and decode symbols transmitted through media and synthesize, analyze, and produce mediated messages. When it comes to the content in media literacy, it takes two. Creators should try their best to give accurate, reliable data rather than just going off emotion or bias. Not all content creators have teams behind them that have done studies and know how to work the algorithms to get people engaged into the content so they need to get the people to watch one way or another which can turn into some crazy rage baiting videos. Consumers on the other hand, need to be able to distinguish between facts and satire, also things like clickbait, and just straight up lies and verify them with other sources before deeming them true. For example, let’s say a viral clip claiming that President Trump plans on reigning to become a full-time journalist is classic misinformation. To verify this information the consumer needs to check reputable sources and double check if they have reported anything, look at the hashtags on the video, and read comments and see what people are saying. Disinformation campaigns often target minorities, a study done by Designing Misinformation Interventions for All analyzed the Internet Research Agency’s 2016 election and revealed that Black voters were targeted specifically with misinformation about the candidates. Tactics like this exploit certain divides in our society and highlights why we need to have media literacy especially for the people of color. Seeing how easy misinformation can be spread on the internet and how people of color are being targeted, I will give media literally tools to combat the lies of the media.
The media often pushes a racial stereotype which is not only wrong but is harmful to people of color. These outlets often take similar protests and frame them in different lenses depending on who is involved– labeling Black Lives Matter protestors as ‘gangs’ back in 2020, while calling the people part of the January 6 riot ‘patriots.’ For the people watching this from home, lacking media literacy, they see these labels as the full truth, fueling things like prejudice, division, and going as far as harming the mental state of the people of color because they are now being treated a different way by these people. To combat this so that we are not turning on each other or other communities, users can use media literacy strategies like first cross-checking claims: have a multiple of reputable sources before accepting a narrative. Secondly, spot language: watch out for words that provoke rage or show signs of bias like outrageous or mob. Thirdly, check for transparency: quality news should be transparent, and we should use things like reverse image search to be sure images aren’t taken out of context. Lastly, a method that can be used is fact checkers: things like peered reviewed sites or nonprofit sources like .org can be a great way to get accurate information. Being a minority, being the victim of these targeted disinformation campaigns is inventible so learning these skills shouldn’t be optional because this is our defense against the narratives that try to divide us and make it seem like something we are not.
When I first walked into my media literacy course this semester, I had no idea how little I knew about the power of media literacy or how much I needed those skills. That ignorance became a problem, especially when I found out my community is being targeted by misinformation. Growing up I had little to no supervision when it came to the media I consumed. Due to my parents being hardworking immigrants, I didn’t have anyone to teach me about the dangers that is out there on the internet. In middle school, I struggled with reading as multilingual Latino I was placed in English as a Second Language (ESL) program. It took time and support for me to become literate, but once I did it changed my life forever and essentially, I am now going through the same thing but with the media. We are now currently in literacy crises in the U.S according to the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) shared that 21% of Latinos and 10% of multilingual students being able to read at their grade level. Many children are facing the same challenges as I once faced, however their challenges are now stacked with the distractions of the media. Becoming more literate is not only important for our mental health, but also the key to fight back against the narratives that are painted on us and to help our communities fight back against the misinformation.
In our media ran world, literacy is no longer an option. It is now our platform for our rights. Media literacy allows us to tell truth from lies, to speak knowledgeably about ourselves and our communities, and to tear apart the false narratives that are aimed to divide us. By gaining these skills, we can control how we are portrayed, fight back against prejudice, and make real change. Learning media literacy is not only a skill, it is a tool that can be used not only for our own rights but also for the millions that have been misrepresented before us and for the misrepresented after us.
References:
Chen, M., & Xiao, X. (2022). The effect of social media on the development of students’ affective variables. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1010766/full
Khan Academy. (n.d.). How does social media impact our behavior? https://www.khanacademy.org/college-careers-more/social-media-challenges-and-opportunities/xbcfeb71becefc1ac:social-media-and-the-brain/xbcfeb71becefc1ac:how-does-social-media-impact-our-behavior/a/how-does-social-media-impact-our-behavior
Lee, Y. A., Moore, C. R., & Jefferey, T. J. (2023). Designing misinformation interventions for all: Perspectives from AAPI, Black, Latino, and Native American community leaders on misinformation educational efforts. Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review. https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/designing-misinformation-interventions-for-all-perspectives-from-aapi-black-latino-and-native-american-community-leaders-on-misinformation-educational-efforts/
National Association for Media Literacy Education. (n.d.). Media literacy defined. https://namle.org/resources/media-literacy-defined/
News Literacy Project. (n.d.). Is it legit? Five steps for vetting a news source. https://newslit.org/educators/resources/is-it-legit/
Socol, R. A. (2024). The literacy crisis in the U.S. is deeply concerning—and totally preventable. The Education Trust. https://edtrust.org/blog/the-literacy-crisis-in-the-u-s-is-deeply-concerning-and-totally-preventable/
Valkenburg, P. M., Peter, J., & Walther, J. B. (2016). Media effects: Theory and research. Annual Review of Psychology, 67, 315–338. https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-psych-122414-033608
Zablotsky, B., Arockiaraj, B., Gindi, R. M., & Ali, A. (2024). Daily screen time among teenagers: United States, July 2021–December 2023. National Center for Health Statistics. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db513.htm
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