Media and Information Literacy: Day 1

Media and Information Literacy: An Introduction

        For the first day of our classes for the second semester, our teacher for Media and Information Literacy, Mr. Opiana, discussed about how media plays a big role in our lives. We were tasked to list down the forms of media that we use in our daily lives and how much time do we spend on each one per week. The table can be seen here below:

       As you can see, the media provider that I spent most of my time with is Facebook, with a total of 98 hrs per week. Facebook is where I update myself to the latest news and I also use it for social interaction. For me, media is a part of my daily life. Seeing that I spend numerous hours on the internet, I would probably doing nothing at home if it were gone.

       The role of media in one's life depends on a person who uses it. As I stated earlier, media was a daily part of my life. But some people may say that for them, media exists for the sake of entertainment and information or just for communicating easily with people around the globe. Media has made communication and the delivery of information a whole lot easier for everyone. Whether we like it or not, media plays a big role in our lives.

        On the other hand, we were also assigned to describe a subject that was related to our topic. I defined Media Literacy as having the necessary information and knowledge about media and the ability to access and evaluate it.

After our lesson, we were assigned to give our opinions and thoughts on the following questions:

"What makes an individual literate in media and information?"
         In my opinion, I think that an individual is literate in media and information if he/she shares information that is from a trusted source and he/she is knowledgeable and aware of what is true or not. Presenting or posting wrong information in media can lead to a lot of problems if people trusted it.
         Misleading information is very well known in the world of media. Even though we are aware of it, some people still fall victim to it. What's even more dangerous is, anyone can give out or post information using media. People who receive this information must be very careful on believing it or not.

"What activities/habits do you practice which illustrate media and information literacy? Give at least three examples. "

• Using Facebook to be informed and updated of the latest news in our school.  
• Watching videos in YouTube to expand my knowledge in a certain subject in school.
• Reading articles online about what is happening in our country/city.

   In summary, media is something that should be handled responsibly. It can either help or bring harm to people around us.