Media literacy is a big part of my life. It is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and produce media in a variety of forms. Before I became media literate sometime last year, I was just like the ordinary girl walking down the street. I was an example of a media product. I carried and advertised brand names and accessories everywhere. As much as i hate to admit it, even my attitude changed every 6 to 7 months according to how i felt about things. I've been through that Abercrombie and Fitch phase. I've been through that "Gena" phase when i wore head bands and TNA sweaters. Funny thing is, I was never a loser like I think I was now. I was the girl that could "fit in". I was the girl that could move with the time, move with the crowd so i was never criticized. I know the person reading this blog right now has been through certain phases as well. If you haven't realized the phases as yet, then here is your chance. I call them phases because it is something that wont last long. When your subjected to something that will not last very long, it shouldn't be very significant either. Therefore, if it isn't a true trait or a habit of a person, its a phase.
When I realized that it is important to analyze the media, no matter how much it may benefit us, I realized a whole lot of other things. Before, I never stopped for a second to think where I was going, and what was leading me. "I will always be my own person", or at least thats what I thought. I started to think about things I've never noticed about myself like the way I talk, the way I approach people. It was as if i was approaching people exactly the way my best friend was, or her friend, or even her friend's friend. I started to think about McLuhan's words, technology and the world around me. I learned the true meaning of being media literate. I learned that, "Media literacy is a new expanded view of traditional literacy which acknowledges and includes the role and impact of mass media. It is an essential basic skill for our future as individuals and as members of a democratic society".(Aspen Leadership Conference on Media Literacy,1992). I suggest we all need to know media literacy, especially those, just like myself who aim to pursue a career in media which will lead to creating many other forms of media. It is important to know how the minds of our society think and understand that ,"Today's technologies represent a startling fusion of sight and sound that frequently make it difficult for us to discern illusion from reality, fact from fiction."(Introduction to Media Literacy,1995). This quote describes how I was so caught up in my made up world of "coolness" and many of us still are in the illusion that the technologies create. In my opinion, what the technology and media produces becomes an ideology we follow and they eventually become principles we live off if we aren't aware of our surroundings.
Works Cited
Considine, David. "An Introduction to Media Literacy: The What, Why and How To's". Mastering the Media at Appalachain State University. 10th October 2009. Web.
Center for Media Literacy. "Research and Theory (Media Literacy)". CML: Empowerment Through Education. Web. http://www.medialit.org/focus/rsch_home.html
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