A MEDIA AND INFORMATION LITERATE

What It Means To Be A Media And Information Literate

                According to UNESCO, media and information literacy is a set of competencies that empowers citizens to access, retrieve, understand, evaluate and use, create and share information using various tools critically and effectively (2013). Upon knowing this, why is it necessary to be a media and information literate?

            Media play a significant role in knowledge, identity and community formation. A media and information literate know how information, ideas and meanings are communicated. In connection to this, the value of being media and information literate is being able to understand and evaluate the content of each media. In this way, you are able to grasp the information correctly coming from an authentic medium. This importance is connected to the problem in media which is the spreading of fake news. It became a hot issue recently because false information is spread and many people are convinced and fooled by these. With this, being a media and information literate, you can evaluate the information provided and stop the spreading of fake news. Another situation where being media and information literate is needed is when gathering different information, studies, and theories that would serve as your research’s references. The ability to locate, understand and evaluate information would help strengthen and prove the claim of your research. A media and information literate is highly concerned of the value of truthful and insightful information.

            Media and information literacy plays a vital role in helping, participating and engaging in personal, professional and societal activities. In this age where information travels quickly, we should always be vigilant and wise in the information we receive and share because a single information can affect many.

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