Almost 67% of people come across fake news on various different social media platforms. Media literacy is the ability to analyze stories presented on social media to determine their accuracy and credibility. It is a very important skill to have, especially for people in our generation who frequently use Instagram, TikTok, etc.
Social media is an inevitable part of our generation, as it is how we get most of our information. However, many people are susceptible to believe anything they see online. AV English Teacher Lisa Perry explains her opinions on the importance of being aware.
“Well, I suppose that in our current society, we are dominated by digital media. And if we’re inundated, [and] I am using ‘inundated’ negatively, if we are expected to interact with and be inundated with information digitally, we need to know how to navigate it in order to understand what we’re looking at, where it’s coming from, who is saying it, so on and so forth,” said Perry.
How to Use Media to Our Advantage
Although some media might not be as advantageous as others, there are still ways to spread the kinds of information that can revolutionize the world. Many different activists use the power of social media to spread their ideas and messages all around the world.
“I think the media will always be around us, so it’s very important to kind of try and figure out the true message. Also, you can use it to easily spread awareness about certain topics and if you use it, right you can spread information to a wide-spread audience,” said Sustainability Lens Media Director Claire Shriber (‘27).
Communication is something that takes us humans years to master to ensure that no misunderstandings can spread around. The risks of misinterpretations are higher when connecting online. Once we fully grasp the skill of media literacy, we can start focusing our efforts toward ways of using it to our advantage and helping different causes.
“I think we can use it in really brilliant, beautiful ways if we have the best intentions in mind. There are so many ways that we can share joy and love. For example, with the literary magazines at school, we have a lot of really great stories in there that we use to spread positivity. It’s not all bad,” said Amador Writers Ensemble Publicity Officer Isabella Flores (‘26).
