Media literacy implies an understanding by the audience of the basic principles of the work of the media, including the search for the necessary information, understanding the principles of the formation of messages by different media, and the skills to critically evaluate the information received. As a result, a person with sufficient media literacy can assess the authenticity of the received news and have the opportunity to interact with them. One of the primary skills of media literacy is the ability to think critically. Different sources can present the same information to the audience differently, primarily based on who owns each particular media (Poepsel, n.d.). This fact must be considered when analyzing the information received to criticize not only the text itself but the social system as a whole.
In addition, media literacy and critical thinking skills must be applied to avoid the negative impact of media content on a person’s personality. The term ‘bad dynamic’ (Poepsel, n.d.) denotes this influence. A person who receives information from the media or social networks and is not amenable to critical evaluation may have problems with self-identification and expressing one’s opinion. In contrast, media literacy allows the audience to question the information or images they receive from the media and form their attitude toward socially significant issues.
Understanding the principles of the media and their critical evaluation is possible by applying different theoretical concepts, one of which is the agenda-setting theory. This theory explains two fundamental principles of how media works. On the one hand, by publishing any information, the media form the public agenda. On the other hand, for the work of the media to be profitable, the published information must be interesting to the audience, so the audience also influences the formation of the agenda (Poepsel, n.d.). It is essential to understand that such information is intended for mass audiences and contributes to the formation of mass opinions, and not individual ones. However, applying critical thinking skills can help determine what part of the content in the media is agenda-setting and, as a result, reduce its influence on the formation of one’s position.
Reference
Poepsel M. A. (n.d.) Media literacy and media studies research. Web.