The Power of the Media : Why We Need Media Literacy

Media literacy is the process of analyzing and evaluating information that is received from media sources. This process has become extremely important in society today due to the many different and popular forms of media from which we receive our information such as, television, the Internet, magazines, and newspapers. It is crucial for an individual to be able to complete this process because it allows us to detect bias, propaganda, and censorship. It also gives an individual the opportunity to breakdown a message to fully understand it without being influenced or manipulated.

Although media literacy is a powerful and necessary tool for all people, I feel that college students need to be the most aware of this process. College is an important time for all students because it really opens them up to new and different experiences and gives them a sense of independence. Throughout college students will study many different subjects, explore many new issues, and be asked to share their own personal opinions. I feel that college is a time to gain a sense of who you are and what you believe in, and during this time students may be easily influenced by what is going on around them, such as the clutter of the media. Without being media literate, an individual may not be able to decipher the meanings of these media messages, causing their knowledge and beliefs to be persuaded in a devious way.

Another reason why I feel that college students are more susceptible to being persuaded by media messages is because they are constantly using the media to gain knowledge and information for research and school projects, and with constant Internet access and television college students are continuously exposed to and the target of media messages. However, students who are media literate have the power to not only control the amount of exposure to media messages but also how they analyze and evaluate the messages.


In society in general, there are various reasons why media literacy is so important. For example, we rely so much on the media in order to receive information and news, and when the media holds this power over us they have the ability to distort messages and persuade our opinions, knowing that we will always keep watching. Another example is that many news stations appear to be bias in the type of news they report. These stations have complete control over what the audience sees and hears, however stations do not have control over how we think. It is our job as the viewer to pick up on this bias.

Overall, I feel that media literacy is a valuable tool that must be implemented by all people in order to be successful. I feel that our society is changing, as well as technology and we need to be prepared for the mass amount of information, advertisements, and messages that will be thrown at us. We can't go on throughout our life believing everything we hear and see from the media, otherwise we would never be able to make decisions for ourselves or obtain our own opinions.