According to Potter, media literacy is “a set of perspectives that we actively use to expose ourselves to the mass media to interpret the meaning of the messages we encounter.”
Media literacy is essential in our digital world. Information is available at exponential rates and without media literacy we could not keep up and media would control us.
By developing a high degree of media literacy, our appetite for a wider variety of media messages will grow. In addition, increases in media literacy, allow us to learn more about how to program our own mental codes, rather than letting the media do it for us. And lastly, media literacy gives us more control over the media.
Reference
Potter, W. James. Media Literacy. 9th ed., Sage, 2019.
Patrick Dougherty 