When there is a lot of food in front of you, and little time to consume it, its easy to chew too fast, or not at all; forget that you are eating in the first place; that you have the ability to taste. The same thing is true about media consumption. With the few free moments we have, most of us turn to mindless scrolling. The vast, seemingly unlimited amount of memes, short videos, news, even movies and T.V. at our finger tips is like an all you can eat buffet that shows no sign of depletion
THE POWER OF MEDIA
Media consumption is a full body experience that impacts our entire person. What we consume directly shapes what we come to believe and project into the world.
Whether subconsciously or with great intention, most media is produced with this understanding, having been imbedded with messages that promote the ideals of its creator. This is the power of media- the transfer of meaning. Like most powers, it can be used to both help and harm.
It’s easy to believe you are immune to media messaging, but it is people who assume they are making no assumptions at all that forfeit their awareness and therefore defense.
The movement towards a more media literate society understands the importance of awareness in this hyper mediated world.
WHAT IS MEDIA LITERACY?
“The ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create,
and act using all forms of communication.”
-National Association for Media Literacy Education
There are countless already existing programs such as NAMLE that promote conscious consumption of media. Our contribution here is in two parts
Provide a list of educational resources to help you independently explore the significance of media literacy
Organize groups to attend media literacy events together.