Media LiteracyMedia Literacy

Why bother?Why bother?

If we’re not media If we’re not media literate, we can’t literate, we can’t

understand what the understand what the media are doing for media are doing for

us and to usus and to us

SENDER RECEIVER

SENDERRECEIVER

CHANNEL

CHANNEL

Animal HouseAnimal House

The Cosby ShowThe Cosby Show

Media Literacy Media Literacy

Media literacy- ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and process media messages

US produces the most media content, yet we’re probably among the least media literate countries

Active RecipientsActive Recipients

Literacy is a continuum, not a category Low -----------------------High

High literacy ability contextualize and understand the message from multiple perspectives i.e., You don’t just accept the media

messageActive processing

Active RecipientsActive Recipients

Low literacy inability to contextualize media messages i.e., Don’t identify inaccuracies More likely to just accept media

message at face value Inactive processing

More knowledge gives us more control over interpretation Move from uncritical to critical Understand the ways media affect us

A critical thinking skill A critical thinking skill enabling audience enabling audience

members to develop members to develop independent judgments independent judgments

about media contentabout media content

Most people just veg out when Most people just veg out when interacting with the mediainteracting with the media Sit in front of tubeSit in front of tube Leaf through magazines and Leaf through magazines and

newspapersnewspapers Radio in the backgroundRadio in the background Surf the net at randomSurf the net at random Text and tweet ad nauseumText and tweet ad nauseum

Kate Moore – texting Kate Moore – texting champchamp

Sends an average Sends an average of 14,000 text of 14,000 text messages a monthmessages a month

““Let your kid text Let your kid text during dinner! Let during dinner! Let your kid text your kid text during school! It during school! It pays off!”pays off!”

A critical thinking A critical thinking skill enabling skill enabling

audience members audience members to develop to develop

independent independent judgments about judgments about

media contentmedia content

An understanding An understanding of the process of of the process of

mass mass communicationcommunication

An awareness of An awareness of the impact of the impact of media on the media on the individual and individual and

societysociety

So who’s affected? So who’s affected?

Do you think you’re affected by media messages?

What about other people around you?

Effects on me????? Effects on me????? Never!!!Never!!!

I have asked many people over the years: Do media messages have an effect on

you? Often respond with: No (i.e. I watched

lots of violence when I was a kid and I’m fine today)

Effects on others: Often imply that other people are affected by media

Third Person Effect

Perceptions of Media Perceptions of Media EffectsEffects

Third-person effect (Davison, 1983) perceptual component

Message desirability (pro- or antisocial)

overestimate of effects on othersOther people become more

aggressiveunderestimate of effects on self

Media doesn’t affect me

Social Distance CorollarySocial Distance Corollary

Studies find more general / socially distant “other” leads to larger perceived effects other WSU students, then other WA

residents, then public at large Lower class “others” more likely to be

affected

The importance of perceived exposure: differences across “other” groups NOT

based on perceptions of dissimilarity as assumed

“other” estimates due to perceived exposure

“self” estimates based on many factors, but NOT exposure

Linking 3rd-Person Linking 3rd-Person Perceptions to Support for Perceptions to Support for

CensorshipCensorship Studies of 3rd-person perceptions

and censorship of: pornography violent TV content violent and misogynic rap and death

metal lyrics People support censorship because

they assume people are being affected by this content

Strategies for Strategies for analyzing and analyzing and

discussing media discussing media messagesmessages

The ability to enjoy, The ability to enjoy, understand, and understand, and appreciate media appreciate media

contentcontent

Terry PratchettTerry Pratchett

The Daily Show w/ John The Daily Show w/ John StewartStewart

An understanding An understanding of the ethical and of the ethical and moral obligations moral obligations

of media of media practitionerspractitioners

Media Literacy Media Literacy SkillsSkills

Ability and Ability and willingness to make willingness to make

an effort to an effort to understand understand

content, to pay content, to pay attention, and to attention, and to filter out noisefilter out noise

An An understanding of understanding of and respect for and respect for

the power of the power of media messagesmedia messages

The ability to The ability to distinguish distinguish

emotional from emotional from reasoned reasoned

reactions and to reactions and to act accordinglyact accordingly

Develop a Develop a heightened heightened

expectation of expectation of media contentmedia content

Know genre Know genre conventions and conventions and

learn to learn to recognize when recognize when they’re being they’re being

mixedmixed

Think critically Think critically about media about media messages, no messages, no matter how matter how credible the credible the

sourcesource

An understanding An understanding of media content as of media content as a text that provides a text that provides

insight into our insight into our culture and our culture and our

liveslives