Assignment:
Media Matrix
Complete the matrix below by defining each of the media keywords listed. Then, discuss whether this keyword creates benefit, risk, or both for an individual. Explain your responses. Next, answer the short-answer questions that follow the matrix. Include a reference page consistent with APA guidelines.
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Key Word
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Description
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Media Literacy
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Automaticity
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Media Exposure
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Building Blocks of Media Literacy (List and describe)
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Mental Codes
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Meaning Matching
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Filtering
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Meaning Construction
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Answer the following questions with short answers (one to three complete sentences).
Choose one of the seven (7) skills of media literacy which are analysis, evaluation, grouping, induction, deduction, synthesis, and abstracting .
1. Why is this skill important? Provide an example of its significance based on your own experiences.
2. What is a media message? Give two examples of media messages you have encountered today.
3. The text talks about having "more control over media" (below). What is meant by this, and why is it important for you as an individual, and for society?
More Control Over Media
Increasing your level of media literacy gives you more power to control media exposures and their eventual effect on you. At lower levels of media literacy, you default to media control; that is, the media will use you to achieve their own goals. The mass media are composed of businesses that are very sophisticated in knowing how to attract your attention and condition you for repeat exposures.
There are times when the media's business goals and your personal goals are the same, thus creating a win-win situation for both the media and you. But there are also many times when your personal goals are different from the media's goals; when this occurs, you need to make a decision about whether to go along with the media-conditioned habits or break away from those conditioned habits to pursue your own goals. Oftentimes, we do not realize there is a decision to make because we are so firmly entrenched into those media-conditioned habits. The media literacy perspective will help you recognize when you have choices, especially in situations where the media's goals are different from your own goals.
Summary
This chapter presents a definition of media literacy as a perspective from which we expose ourselves to the media and interpret the meaning of the messages we encounter. Media literacy is not a category; instead, there are degrees of media literacy. Media literacy is also multidimensional, with development taking place cognitively, emotionally, aesthetically, and morally.
Media literacy is composed of three building blocks: skills, knowledge structures, and personal locus. The skills are the tools that we use to work on information in the media messages to build strong knowledge structures. The direction and drive to do this work lies in one's personal locus.
People who are highly media literate are able to see much more in a given message. They are more aware of the levels of meaning. This enhances understanding. They are more in charge of programming their own mental codes. This enhances control. They are much more likely to get what they want from the messages. This enhances appreciation. Thus, people operating at higher levels of media literacy fulfill the goals of higher understanding, control, and appreciation.
4. How might media literacy help you in your personal life? How might it help you in your professional life?