Media and Information

MIL Literate Individual

What’s In

To become a media literate is not to memorize facts or statistics about the

media but rather to learn, to raise the right questions about what you are watching,
reading, or listening to and to be Information Literate a person must be able to
recognize when information is needed & have the ability to locate, evaluate

In this lesson, you will identify the issues, challenges and benefits of the
different media and information platforms and to synthesize its overall impact on an
individual’s personal, professional, educational dealings and on the society’s
economic, social, political, educational sectors.

What’s New

The increased use of digital media is changing people’s everyday lives and the
way they connect and collaborate in the broader societal context, at work and in
civil society. Much of the impact of this heightened use is beneficial to both
individuals and society. It is enabling unprecedented levels of communication, social
interaction and community building across boundaries of time, place and social
context.

The Media and Information Literate Individual enables people to interpret and
make informed judgments as users of information and media, as well as to become
skillful creators and producers of information and media messages in their own right.
Media and information improve quality of life.

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 What is It

Media and Information Literate Individual

Below are what media and information literate individuals capable of doing and
helping:
1. Attract greater opportunities and enhances the way of living.
2. Promote awareness on the various dealings and activities that impact the
community and society as a whole.
3. Liberate minds and develop characters.
4. Increase political and social participation
5. Empower economic stability
6. Enhance business and career opportunities
7. Encourages personal and professional growth
8. Develop communication skills
9. Improved learning environment
10. Maximize more cohesive social units

What are the advantages if you are a media literate?

Increases the ability and proficiency of students to communicate (express) and

disseminate their thoughts and ideas in a wide (and growing) range of print and
electronic media forms - and even international venues.
33 Related Question Answers Found

It is important to effectively access, organize, analyze, evaluate, and create

messages in a variety of forms. The transformative nature of IML includes creative
works and creating new knowledge; to publish and collaborate responsibly requires
ethical, cultural and social understanding.

Unpacking Media Messages

Ads, news, movies, TV shows, and many other types of media all want you to
accept their messages at face value. However, you should look beneath the surface
and ask questions to decode what these media messages are really saying.

Who is the source of the message?

Knowing who is responsible for a message can reveal its true intention, as
well as any possible bias. If the source isn’t obvious, you can find it by following links
or checking legal disclaimers.

How is it trying to get your attention?

The obvious part of a message is called the text, which includes any language,
imagery, music, or anything else you can see and hear. Creators can use a multitude
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of techniques to grab your attention, and they will often craft the text to appeal to a
specific audience. Even if you enjoy the message, try to remain critical so you can
see if it contains actual substance or if it’s all smoke and mirrors.

How could this message be interpreted?

The implied part of a message is called the subtext, and it’s suggested by the
content rather than directly seen or heard. We as individuals then decide how to
interpret this subtext based on our personal biases, world views, and expectations.
People with different perspectives might interpret the same piece of media very
differently.

Is the message fair and trustworthy?

Some media may withhold or exaggerate information, like an ad that makes
their product appear more effective than it really is. Make sure you always get a
complete set of information from trustworthy sources, even if the media itself neglects
to do so.

Deconstructing media messages is a critical skill in our media-saturated

culture, as it helps you cut through the noise and reach your own conclusions.

What is fake news?

The Internet is an incredible resource for news and information, but
unfortunately not everything online is trustworthy. Fake news is any article or video
containing untrue information disguised as a credible news source. While fake news
is not unique to the Internet, it has recently become a big problem in today’s digital
world.

Fake news typically comes from sites that specialize in bogus or

sensationalized stories. It tends to use provocative headlines, like "Celebrity
endorses not brushing teeth" or "Politician selling toxic waste on the black market".
These headlines can seem suspicious or even unbelievable to the point of being silly,
making it tempting to think of fake news as harmless.

In recent years, however, fake news has been responsible for a great deal of
misinformation because more and more people have begun consuming and
believing these articles without bothering to fact check or even read beyond the
headlines. This acceptance of incorrect information has led to confusion, panic, and
an inability to discuss the actual facts surrounding current events.

How did fake news become such a problem?

A fake news article is designed to outrage and shock, causing some readers
to share it on Facebook, Twitter, or another type of social media platform without
questioning it. Sharing the article exposes it to more people who may be outraged by
it, who also share it without question, and so on. This cycle continues until a sizeable
number of people believe this fake story is the truth.

Why do people write fake news?

Writers of fake news typically create it for one of two reasons: to fulfill a social
agenda, like angering a population against a political opponent; or to earn
advertising revenue through visits to their sites. Unfortunately, business is
booming.
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 Just one fake news writer claimed to earn $10,000 per month from the
advertising revenue of his articles, and he said he planned to keep writing until the
money stopped coming in. With an unknown number of writers drafting multiple
fake articles each day, the flood of bad information may continue for quite some time.

What’s being done about it?

Online giants like Google and Facebook are attempting to crack down on fake
news by banning suspicious sites from advertising on their platforms and asking
users to report dishonest articles. However, many critics feel that Google, Facebook,
and other online services still aren't doing enough.

Unfortunately, fake news writers will likely continue to create new sites and
methods to get around any digital roadblocks. This means the best way to prevent
fake news from spreading is to teach users how to identify fake news themselves.
That means you!

How can I tell if an article is fake?

Fake articles can be difficult to spot at first, which is why it’s good to develop
a habit of checking the accuracy of any article you read, especially ones you find
through social media. Here are some things you can do if you come across an article
that seems fishy:

1. Enter the keywords of the story into a search engine and get a second opinion
from a credible news site with verifiable sources.
2. Check the dates involved in the article. Fake news writers sometimes take a
real story from the past, put an outrageous headline on it, and try to pass it
off as a current event.
3. Find the source of the author’s information for the article. Is the source
credible?
4. Does the website’s appearance look a little strange? Some fake news sites
mimic the appearance of legitimate news sources, tricking the casual reader.
5. Take a look at the headlines of other stories from the same website. Are most
of them hard to believe? Shocking? Inflammatory? If so, question the website’s
practices.
6. Is the article actually a joke? When we say fake news, we aren’t talking about
comedy sites like The Onion and ClickHole, which write humorous stories
based on current events.

You can also confirm information at fact-checking sites like PolitiFact.com,

FactCheck.org, and Snopes.com. These sources specialize in fact checking and
debunking inaccurate stories and claims.

Media in Nation Building

The electronic and print media are indeed the most powerful tools in shaping
the perceptions of individuals and nations about every major national and
international issue. They also reflect the quality of national discourse and priorities.
A serious appraisal of the contents and form of the media can help in gauging the
intellectual, moral and social standards of a nation. Thus a heavy responsibility
resides with those who own media houses and newspapers, and the ones who work
in the background preparing programmes, analyzing and commenting on national
and international issues in newspapers and electronic media.
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 It has to be acknowledged that essentially the media reflects the societal
norms and values. While it can play a positive role in correcting national values it is
equally vulnerable to societal ills and shortcomings.

Media and Information Improve Quality of Life

There is no denying the extent of how the media and information age has
drastically improved
the lives of people.
Communication has
been made easier.
Information has
become widely
accessible.
Conducting research
has become more
convenient. All these
and more are enjoyed
by media literate
individuals and prove
just how much the
quality of life has
improved thanks to media and information.

As early as preschool, children are allowed to use the computer as well as

mobile phones. A computer liberate individual knows the different applications
available in the computer. However, a child who does not even know how to read can
play computer games.
Now, students use computer to encode their research papers, whatever editing
and revisions are needed, they only have to insert and delete whatever is needed to
be changed in the original paper. No need to use erasers and carbon paper, each
copy of the research paper is original and clean from blemishes. You can highlight
important items in the paper by making a bold print or italicize or use a particular
font style.

Doing research readings have also become very convenient, in the past,
students have to get permission from different libraries to be able to avail of books
in other libraries. Now, you do not have to spend the whole day in the library to
gather data. You can stay in the comfort of your home but you are able to get the
information you need through the computer if you have access to the e-books
(electronic books) and e-journals (electronic journals), the world wide web, and other
computer applications.

Looking for a job is easy, go to the different job sites and find which job you
are qualified. Prepare your letter of application, resume, transcript of records, and
other qualifications and send them through e-mail to the company you are applying
to. You also receive the reply for you to go to their office for examinations and
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interviews through your e-mail or Facebook. Also, overtime work now does not mean
you have to stay in the office beyond office hours, rather you can work from home
using your computer.

If you live a very busy life, even shopping can be done online, you can view
whatever you need like clothes, shoes, gadgets, even cars. Make your order using
credit card and the items you ordered will be delivered at your doorstep.

You can plan your trips and vacation and avail of discounts in the airlines
through the internet. You pay your airline reservation through your credit card when
you make the reservation online and print the e-ticket (electronic ticket) which you
present at the airport when you are ready to take your trip.

Greater Political Participation

There is no denying the extent of how the media and information age has
drastically improved the lives of people. Communication has been made easier.
Information has become widely accessible. Conducting research has become more
convenient. All these and more are enjoyed by media literate individuals and prove
just how much the quality of life has improved thanks to media and information.

Better Economic Opportunities

The media industry has grown in number on today’s information age both in
content and in the workforce. The open content contribution nature of the new media
has made it possible for ordinary individuals to offer their materials for consumption
often for free, or at times for a cost. Online content is free but has gained popularity,
advertisers will offer to buy digital ad-space on a web page.

With the availability of modern technology and the new media information,
many job opportunities are open to qualified young people who have the skills and
proficiency in English. What is meant by proficiency in English? They possess the
four skills in the language: they are proficient in listening, speaking, reading, and
writing. When a Filipino applies in a BPO, there are two kinds of jobs available for
him. The voice job where they work in the call centers, talking to customers in the
different parts of the world; the other job is the non-voice, where most of the jobs are
in front of the computers, reading and writing communication of business
transactions in the different parts of the world. The qualified and skilled Filipinos
have job opportunities in the BPO.

With the use of modern technology in media and information, many new job
opportunities are available to young people because most companies prefer to avail
of the new media. These companies are able to save on the number of employees.
Most transactions use the computers, so they use less paper; filling is also done in
the computer, so they use less paper; filling is also done in the computer so less
wasted space for filling cabinets because thousands of business transactions can be
saved in the computers.

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Improved Learning Environment

Many believe that media and information have made learning easy, accessible,
and inexpensive. With these are true, the improvement in the learning environment
brought by media and information goes beyond convenience, availability, and cost.
Learning in schools meant understanding –or at least attempting to- subjects
for the sake of passing and getting good grades. One’s education is given importance
because it is pre-requisite to a good job which is then equated to a good life.
Traditional learning environments have caused people in general to lose appetite for
knowledge. Luckily, media and information have cleansed society’s palate and have
reinvented learning as a whole.

Media does not force feed information to unwilling receivers, instead, media
has made information sought after. The media also made learning a choice instead
of a necessary evil. After all, no one is commanded “google” a topic or enroll in a
certain online course, people who do to choose to do it. Since the media is source
information and information age is characterized by the abundance of data, media
and information have been closely linked to the improvement of the learning
environment in the present age. A media and information literate individual take
advantage of this further his or her lifelong learning process.
A young learner today has access to a very interesting and challenging world
of experience to explore. Television now offers cable connections that enable a learner
to access information of the different countries in the world with translation in
English.
Most schools are equipped with computers with Internet connections. In some
schools, they have an extra room beside the library which has computers for
student’s research use. Even the card catalogue is no longer in small filling boxes in
one corner of the library, instead book collections and other references of the library
can be checked in the computer.
Most homes now have desktop computers, laptops, or computer tablets with
internet connections available from cable networks and telephone companies. Also,
there are computer shops available at a very low price of 20 pesos per hour use of
computers.
Learners from grade school, high school, and college levels have access about
media and information both in school as well as in their homes.

More Cohesive Social Units

The concept of unit cohesion stems from a military concept of bond soldiers
have that makes them more effective in working together to complete a mission.
Media and information literate individuals are said to be more cohesive social units
than those who are not.
By keeping them informed, as well as connecting them in ways that weren’t
possible before, media and information literates become more cohesive social units.
This creates a bond that does not only have relational implications but also creates
social impacts.
The media is said to have the power to affect social change. While this is true,
it is not the media that does the heavy lifting to create change in society, it is the
individuals in the society who developed a clamoring need for change because of
media. The media may play a hand towards a holistic development of the society, but
without media and information literate individuals sharing the same goal,
development would not occur.
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 Since most families have mobile phones, they do away with the telephone
landline except when they have Internet connection through telephone lines which
they pay monthly. In case of problems in the community, residents can easily call
the Barangay Office to report unnecessary noise. When suspicious strangers are seen
late in the evening in the community, people may report such incidents to the police
station.
With the new media, families who are not living together and children whose
parents work abroad can communicate with one another easily using SKYPE.
Parents monitor their children virtually. Communication has become cheaper and
more convenient.
Information and warning regarding typhoons and other possible emergencies
are easily communicated by government agencies to different parts of the country or
even in other countries so people are able to prepare in advance.
People can also easily react to political, social, economic, even religious issues
thru Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other Internet applications. Distance is no
longer a big deal. No matter where you are media and information are easily
accessible.

What’s More

Activity 1: MIL Impact

Instructions: Fill in the chart with the overall impacts of media and information to
individual’s personal, professional and educational aspects and to society’s
economic, political, social and education sectors.

A
Overall impact Personal Professional Education
Aspect Aspect Aspect
of Media and
Information to an
individual
B
Overall impact Economic Political Sector Social Sector
Sector
of Media and
Information to
the society

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