As time has gone on, I feel like the term media literacy has lost its meaning and become more and more of a buzzword. Media literacy is a necessary tool, not just for people who want to be involved in media or actively consume it, but for the average person as well. Media literacy allows people to know whether or not misinformation is being spread and make their own decisions when it comes to crucial notions such as health. 

This is due to the fact that the media tends to spew a lot of negative and borderline incorrect information about these topics. 

Where things have started to go wrong and what has been the root of a multitude of media literacy problems in the last few years has been the internet. In retrospect, this seems rather counterintuitive, as most if not all of the media that is consumed is via the internet in some form or another. 

While this is true, the internet has single handedly led to how media literacy has lost its meaning. On one hand, we have how social media has led for people to voice their opinions on certain topics that interest them, but on the other hand, this also leads to a lot of misinformation that can easily spread due to the algorithms on the websites and apps that host content. 

Nowadays people believe what they see on social media a bit too easily, which leads people to be reactionary.

This problem of being reactionary can be traced to a lack of discernment from the audience. There should be a side of them that tells them whether or not something is even worth engaging with in the first place, and a side of them that will allow for them to make reasonable judgement on certain topics and videos they come across.

I think the biggest part of why it seems that this doesn’t exist in people anymore is because people are on these platforms a lot, and their attention spans are hindering this aspect from being used in the way it was intended. 

This is especially true in academic settings where media literacy rates seem to be dwindling. Students are not using their discernment when they have to look up sources and articles, as well as having so much access to online spaces tends to lead them to being overwhelmed and prone to believing any and everything.

But the lack of discernment isn’t even my biggest issue with how media literacy is approached nowadays. As previously mentioned, I think the term “media literacy” has become somewhat of a buzzword, and that is especially prevalent in online spaces. I have seen this problem arise more so in areas of the internet where there are spaces dedicated to talking about certain media such as films, television, books, etc…, and the same problems where people have difficulties consuming the news are prevalent here as well.

For example, I have noticed that whenever there is a new popular show or film that has just gained traction in online spaces, people that are fans of it quickly tend to misinterpret what it is that they are actually watching and tend to conflate what their theories and scenarios that they made up on their own with what is actually happening on screen. 

This is a small part of a bigger problem, as these people like to get on social media platforms and try to definitively say that their expectations of a piece of media are right, and what they are actually seeing isn’t. This also leads to a massive debate amongst the dedicated fanbase of specific pieces of media, and the cycle continues. 

Amongst these debates the actual phrase “lack of media literacy” is often thrown around from people on both sides of the argument.

On one hand, I agree with the opposing side, because the pipeline of misinterpretation of the source material to believing what you came up with as factual is a problem, and a sign of media literacy not being used properly. 

But there is a difference between someone showing signs of being media illiterate and someone disagreeing with an opinion that another person has about whatever piece of media that they are engaging with. 

This is where the term starts to enter buzzword territory for me. The idea of inadvertently stripping an important term and helpful tool of its meaning to try and win an argument online is why I hate when “media literacy” is thrown around. And as previously mentioned, there are cases where this isn’t entirely wrong, as misinformation and misinterpretation of media is so common, especially in today’s age. 

The term should be used correctly even if people are on opposite ends of the internet, because after all, everyone is still engaging with media in some way shape or form even if what gets consumed is different. People can make the same media illiterate mistakes even if they are interested in different things. Someone can mainly consume news media and someone else can mainly consume entertainment media, and still fall into the misinformation trap if they aren’t careful enough, and can call someone else out for not having good media literacy skills when they themselves are perpetuating the same mistakes. 

Remember to stop and think about when it is appropriate to mention and use the term, as mindlessly throwing it around is also a sign of media illiteracy, exactly what we are trying to avoid in the first place.