Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHistoryImpactHow to Practice Media Literacy

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Table of Contents

History

Impact

How to Practice Media Literacy

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We live in a world saturated with media of all kinds, from newspapers to radio to television to the internet. How do we understand and evaluate all of these media messages we encounter daily? Well, it’s this neat little skill called media literacy.

Media literacy is the ability to apply critical thinking skills to the messages, signs, and symbols transmitted throughmass media. It empowers us to make better choices about what we choose to read, watch, and listen to, and helps us become smarter, more discerning members of society.

Media literacy interventions and education help children and adults recognize the influence media has and give them the knowledge and tools to mitigate its impact.

History of Media Literacy

The earliest attempts at media literacy education are often traced back to the British Film Institute’s push in the late 1920s and early 1930s to teach analytical skills to media users. Around the same time in America, the Wisconsin Association for Better Broadcasters sought to teach citizens to be more critical consumers of media.

Media Literacy and the Internet

More recently, the advent of theinternetand portable technologies that enable us to consume media anywhere and anytime has led to a resurgence in the call for media literacy. Yet the goal is no longer to prevent people from using media, but to help them become more informed, thoughtful media consumers.

Although media literacy education has now become accepted and successful in English-speaking countries including Australia, Canada, and Britain, it has yet to become a standard part of the curriculum in the United States, where a lack of centralization has led to a scattershot approach to teaching practical media literacy skills.

Impact of Media Literacy

Despite America’s lack of a standardized media literacy curriculum, study after study has shown the value of teaching people of all ages media literacy skills.

For example, a review of the research on media literacy education and reduction inracial and ethnic stereotypesfound that children as young as 12 can be trained to recognize bias in media depictions of race and ethnicity and understand the harm it can cause.

Though the authors note that this topic is still understudied, they observe that the evidence suggests media literacy education can help adolescents become sensitive toprejudiceand learn to appreciate diversity.

Media Literacy Affects Your Sense of Self

Meanwhile, multiple studies have shown that media literacy interventions reducebody dissatisfactionthat can be the result of the consumption of media messages.

Studies Show Having Media Literacy Prevents Body Image IssuesSimilarly, another study showed college women (who were at high risk foreating disorders) reported less body dissatisfaction, a lower desire to be thin, and reduced internalization of societal beauty standards after participating in a media literacy intervention. The researchers concluded that media literacy training could help prevent eating disorders in high-risk individuals.

Studies Show Having Media Literacy Prevents Body Image Issues

Similarly, another study showed college women (who were at high risk foreating disorders) reported less body dissatisfaction, a lower desire to be thin, and reduced internalization of societal beauty standards after participating in a media literacy intervention. The researchers concluded that media literacy training could help prevent eating disorders in high-risk individuals.

How Media Literacy Prevents Misinformation

Moreover, studies have shown that media literacy education can help people better discern the truth of media claims, enabling them to detect “fake news” and make more informed decisions.

For instance, research into young adults' assessment of the accuracy of claims on controversial public issues was improved if the subjects had been exposed to media literacy education.In addition, another study showed that only people who underwent media literacy training engaged in criticalsocial mediaposting practices that prevented them from posting false information about the COVID-19 pandemic.

The evidence for the benefits of media literacy suggests it is valuable for people of all ages to learn to be critical media consumers. Media scholar W. James Potter observes that allmedia messagesinclude four dimensions:

Media psychologist Karen Dill-Shackleford suggests that we can use these four dimensions as a jumping off point to improve our media literacy skills.

Applying Media Literacy in Real-World Situations

Let’s say while streaming videos online we’re exposed to an advertisement for a miracle weight loss drug. In order to better evaluate what the ad is really trying to tell us, we can break it down as follows:

This is one avenue for learning to practice media literacy in everyday life. Remember, the purpose of media literacy isn’t to enjoy media less, it’s to give people the tools to be active media consumers.

Why You Should Practice Media Literacy

Not only will media literacy enable you to detect, analyze, and evaluate negative or false media messages, it will actually enable you to enjoy media more because it putscontrolover the media back into your hands. And research shows this is likely to increase your health and happiness.

9 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.About the Society for Media Psychology & Technology. Society for Media Psychology & Technology, Division 46 of the American Psychological Association. 2013.Dill-Shackleford KE.How Fantasy Becomes Reality. New York: Oxford University Press; 2009.Arke ET.Media Literacy: History, Progress, and Future Hopes. In: Dill-Shackleford KE, ed.The Oxford Handbook Of Media Psychology. 1st ed. New York: Oxford University Press; 2012. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195398809.013.0006Scharrer E, Ramasubramanian S.Intervening in the Media’s Influence on Stereotypes of Race and Ethnicity: The Role of Media Literacy Education.Journal of Social Issues. 2015;71(1):171-185. doi:10.1111/josi.12103Halliwell E, Easun A, Harcourt D. Body dissatisfaction: Can a short media literacy message reduce negative media exposure effects amongst adolescent girls?Br J Health Psychol. 2011;16(2):396-403. doi:10.1348/135910710x515714Coughlin JW, Kalodner C.Media literacy as a prevention intervention for college women at low- or high-risk for eating disorders.Body Image. 2006;3(1):35-43. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2006.01.001Kahne J, Bowyer B.Educating for Democracy in a Partisan Age: Confronting the Challenges of Motivated Reasoning and Misinformation.Am Educ Res J. 2016;54(1):3-34. doi:10.3102/0002831216679817Melki J, Tamim H, Hadid D, Makki M, El Amine J, Hitti E.Mitigating infodemics: The relationship between news exposure and trust and belief in COVID-19 fake news and social media spreading.PLoS One. 2021;16(6). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0252830Potter WJ.Media Literacy. 4th ed. Los Angeles: SAGE; 2008.

9 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.About the Society for Media Psychology & Technology. Society for Media Psychology & Technology, Division 46 of the American Psychological Association. 2013.Dill-Shackleford KE.How Fantasy Becomes Reality. New York: Oxford University Press; 2009.Arke ET.Media Literacy: History, Progress, and Future Hopes. In: Dill-Shackleford KE, ed.The Oxford Handbook Of Media Psychology. 1st ed. New York: Oxford University Press; 2012. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195398809.013.0006Scharrer E, Ramasubramanian S.Intervening in the Media’s Influence on Stereotypes of Race and Ethnicity: The Role of Media Literacy Education.Journal of Social Issues. 2015;71(1):171-185. doi:10.1111/josi.12103Halliwell E, Easun A, Harcourt D. Body dissatisfaction: Can a short media literacy message reduce negative media exposure effects amongst adolescent girls?Br J Health Psychol. 2011;16(2):396-403. doi:10.1348/135910710x515714Coughlin JW, Kalodner C.Media literacy as a prevention intervention for college women at low- or high-risk for eating disorders.Body Image. 2006;3(1):35-43. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2006.01.001Kahne J, Bowyer B.Educating for Democracy in a Partisan Age: Confronting the Challenges of Motivated Reasoning and Misinformation.Am Educ Res J. 2016;54(1):3-34. doi:10.3102/0002831216679817Melki J, Tamim H, Hadid D, Makki M, El Amine J, Hitti E.Mitigating infodemics: The relationship between news exposure and trust and belief in COVID-19 fake news and social media spreading.PLoS One. 2021;16(6). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0252830Potter WJ.Media Literacy. 4th ed. Los Angeles: SAGE; 2008.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

About the Society for Media Psychology & Technology. Society for Media Psychology & Technology, Division 46 of the American Psychological Association. 2013.Dill-Shackleford KE.How Fantasy Becomes Reality. New York: Oxford University Press; 2009.Arke ET.Media Literacy: History, Progress, and Future Hopes. In: Dill-Shackleford KE, ed.The Oxford Handbook Of Media Psychology. 1st ed. New York: Oxford University Press; 2012. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195398809.013.0006Scharrer E, Ramasubramanian S.Intervening in the Media’s Influence on Stereotypes of Race and Ethnicity: The Role of Media Literacy Education.Journal of Social Issues. 2015;71(1):171-185. doi:10.1111/josi.12103Halliwell E, Easun A, Harcourt D. Body dissatisfaction: Can a short media literacy message reduce negative media exposure effects amongst adolescent girls?Br J Health Psychol. 2011;16(2):396-403. doi:10.1348/135910710x515714Coughlin JW, Kalodner C.Media literacy as a prevention intervention for college women at low- or high-risk for eating disorders.Body Image. 2006;3(1):35-43. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2006.01.001Kahne J, Bowyer B.Educating for Democracy in a Partisan Age: Confronting the Challenges of Motivated Reasoning and Misinformation.Am Educ Res J. 2016;54(1):3-34. doi:10.3102/0002831216679817Melki J, Tamim H, Hadid D, Makki M, El Amine J, Hitti E.Mitigating infodemics: The relationship between news exposure and trust and belief in COVID-19 fake news and social media spreading.PLoS One. 2021;16(6). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0252830Potter WJ.Media Literacy. 4th ed. Los Angeles: SAGE; 2008.

About the Society for Media Psychology & Technology. Society for Media Psychology & Technology, Division 46 of the American Psychological Association. 2013.

Dill-Shackleford KE.How Fantasy Becomes Reality. New York: Oxford University Press; 2009.

Arke ET.Media Literacy: History, Progress, and Future Hopes. In: Dill-Shackleford KE, ed.The Oxford Handbook Of Media Psychology. 1st ed. New York: Oxford University Press; 2012. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195398809.013.0006

Scharrer E, Ramasubramanian S.Intervening in the Media’s Influence on Stereotypes of Race and Ethnicity: The Role of Media Literacy Education.Journal of Social Issues. 2015;71(1):171-185. doi:10.1111/josi.12103

Halliwell E, Easun A, Harcourt D. Body dissatisfaction: Can a short media literacy message reduce negative media exposure effects amongst adolescent girls?Br J Health Psychol. 2011;16(2):396-403. doi:10.1348/135910710x515714

Coughlin JW, Kalodner C.Media literacy as a prevention intervention for college women at low- or high-risk for eating disorders.Body Image. 2006;3(1):35-43. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2006.01.001

Kahne J, Bowyer B.Educating for Democracy in a Partisan Age: Confronting the Challenges of Motivated Reasoning and Misinformation.Am Educ Res J. 2016;54(1):3-34. doi:10.3102/0002831216679817

Melki J, Tamim H, Hadid D, Makki M, El Amine J, Hitti E.Mitigating infodemics: The relationship between news exposure and trust and belief in COVID-19 fake news and social media spreading.PLoS One. 2021;16(6). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0252830

Potter WJ.Media Literacy. 4th ed. Los Angeles: SAGE; 2008.

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