Within media literacy there are a variety of concepts and components that allow for the term to have many different interpretations and scopes; which is a very similar trait to the media and technology as a whole. With technology advancing faster than anticipated there are new forms of communication being presented more often. Being able to be literate within the media community will allow for people to broaden their horizons and increase their knowledge. Media plays a role in everyones day to day life, its ubiquitous presence conveys many messages that are often crucial not only through a persons social life but also professional and leisure. This day and age, society is slowly straying away form old forms of communication such as print and moving towards a relatively new ideology in which information can be mass publicized. The dependance on television, radio, and the internet is increasing quickly and efficiently. This means if one is not literate within the media field they may have to take more exhausting measures to obtain the same amount of information. With technology advancing ever so quickly it makes the most sense to use it to your advantage, one can simply learn more efficiently with the access to so many tools and information very easily. According to the Oxford English Dictionary the term literacy can be defined as “the quality or state of being literate, especially the ability to read and write”, but also describing it to refer to a person’s knowledge within a particular subject. (Dictionary Online, 2010). This shows that literacy is far more broad than the ability to read and write; literacy can mean a multiple different things for any given field. Media literacy in particular has different meanings to different people, their perspectives can depend on many aspects including: experiences, accessibility to technology, age, and culture. Media literacy, to me, is the ability to not only understand the capabilities that technology and media has to offer, but rather understanding how to use them and using them to your advantage. I believe that with technology making a relatively new appearance within society and education, the younger generations will be brought up being media literate and doing great things with media and technology in the future. Media is constantly evolving and becoming a dominant resource within society and education; a dominance that will make media literacy more aware within society.
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