From the World of High School to the World of Messages: Why We Need Media Literacy

Media literacy is becoming increasingly more important in the lives of teenagers and high schoolers. However, according to medialiteracy.com, as it becomes increasingly more important, America still lags behind other industrialized countries like England, Australia, and Canada in educating teenagers about media literacy. American schools should follow in the steps of these other countries and help its teenagers become media literate because, as mentioned previously, media literacy is a skill that is increasing in importance.

One of the reasons this skill is so important to teenagers is because teenagers face more media messages than ever before. Numerous studies abound, which try to find out how much media people experience. One such study, called Generation M, looked at media use of American kids from ages 8-18. They averaged the media use and found that kids spend nearly 6 1/2 hours per day using media. The study then determined that because kids used some media simultaneously, the kids were exposed to 8 1/2 hours of media messages per day. This obviously means that children's lives involve a saturation of media messages.

Due to the increase in media saturation in teenagers' lives, media messages now have significant influence on teenagers. Media literacy is a necessary skill for these kids because they need to know how to analyze the messages they see. If teenagers are not media literate then like the text book Media Literacy states, "They will have a false sense that they know what is going on in the world simply because they are exposed to so much information." Without media literacy, not only will teenagers have a false sense of what they know, they will be uncritical consumers and could be vulnerable to misleading messages.

Teaching media literacy skills to teenagers is also desirable because this is a perfect age to do so. At this age, kids are experiencing more messages and more messages that are complex. At this age, kids will be able to comprehend the information necessary to become media literate and will be old enough to use it in their daily lives. It is also important to teach it at this time in their lives because not every student will go to college. Some type of media literacy skills need to be taught by the time kids are in high school so kids will be prepared to enter a media centered world as a worker.

Media literacy essentially focuses on developing critical thinking skills. Perhaps if someone uses this term instead of media literacy, then one will understand how important this is to teenagers', specifically high schoolers', education. After all, critical thinking skills are something that teachers try to instill in students in a variety of subjects, especially in English classes. When teachers assign classic books to students, many times the teachers' goal is that students will critically analyze what the writer is trying to say in his or her work. Likewise, since media literacy focuses around critical thinking skills, then perhaps teachers should help students analyze media messages as critically as a traditional English assignment. If teachers and high schools can teach their students to think critcally about the media then they will truly be doing their jobs of preparing high schoolers for life outside of high school; a life that is full of messages.

Keeping a Low Risk Point for Aggressive Behavior

The media is a powerful tool and a simple exercise easily demonstrates how media effects affect individuals. By examining thirteen factors that influence media effects, I was able to see how the media can influence me. The one effect I examined was how media factors might influence me acting aggressively after seeing a violent movie. What I learned through this exercise is that the profile of factors, in my personal life, which might influence me acting aggressively, is very low. What this means is there is very little chance I will act aggressively, after watching a violent movie.

However, some personal factors might put me at risk. One of these factors is the factor of media exposure habits. I expose myself to numerous violent movies. This is a powerful factor because it could shape my view of the world as being a violent place.

A similar factor is the context of portrayal. This factor places importance in how characters are portrayed as in, for example, violent movies. An example of this could be the movie The Boondock Saints. The plot involves brothers who go around killing mobsters and people they deem as bad people. What this does is portray killing as an okay thing as long as it is justified.

These two factors are powerful and could have forced me to act aggressively. However, there are media factors in my life that limit the chances of the previous two factors from influencing me. One of these factors is the developmental maturity factor. I have developed relatively early in some maturities, such as moral maturity. With a developed moral maturity, I understand that some morals that are portrayed in medias are not good. The portrayal of the characters in The Boondock Saints does not influence me to act aggressively, because my moral level tells me, no matter what this media portrays, killing is never good.

The other factor that limits my chances of a media influencing me to act aggressively is the sociological factor. Certain social institutions like my parents, friends, and church, are a part of my life and they help to give me a sense of morals and a better sense of reality. For example, my parents have raised me as a Christian so I have developed morally through their guidance.

By the end of this exercise, I realized that there are some things I want to change in my interaction with media. For one thing, I want to develop more knowledge structures so I will be more media literate and will have a better grasp of reality. I find myself getting too much information about the world through the television. I hope to counter this by gaining information from different printed media. I would also like me to remember my goals when I am viewing media. For example, if I am watching television simply for entertainment, I want to keep this goal in mind so I don't start believing that the entertainment I am watching is complete reality.

Scrubs Gets a Snub from NBC

NBC announced a while ago that it was no longer going to pick up new episodes of Scrubs for another season, although rumors have abounded that ABC might take over the show. For Scrubs, a move to another network could only increase its chances of newer seasons since it is getting no help from its NBC time slot.

Now Scrubs may suffer in the ratings even if it is placed on another network and time slot. However, I do not think this would be the initial case. Scrubs just suffers from first of all being placed on a night in which it is surrounded by NBC's monster hits. Scrubs, which airs on Thursday nights at 9:30, is surrounded by hits like My Name is Earl, 30 Rock, and The Office. Scrubs is the last of all of these shows. What this means is that there will already be an hour and a half of popular programming on the network before Scrubs comes on. Perhaps viewers tune in to see their favorite shows like My Name is Earl or The Office and have seen enough network television for the night. By doing this, Scrubs is left in the dark for viewers.

Scrubs Thursday night time slot is also not very favorable compared to other networks. NBC is almost wasting the show by placing it in this time slot because Scrubs cannot compete with other networks' ratings like CBS's Survivor Micronesia and CSI. The Thursday night slot also means Scrubs has to, at times, compete with ABC's Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy.

It just seems like NBC is putting all its eggs in one basket by placing all its younger comedy shows on one night. Its like they are trying to lure people into watching Scrubs, but it would make more sense to spread Scrubs out to a different night. Scrubs is already in its last NBC season so what is the harm in trying this. If the ratings decrease, which I don't think would happen, then the show is getting cancelled anyway and there is no real harm. But by taking it off Thursday night, NBC might get it in a slot with less competition among its shows and other networks and it would help to get people to turn into NBC on another night then just Thursday night. For example, a couple of weeks ago NBC's Monday show My Dad is Better than Your Dad only received a 2.6/4 average rating. Before the writer's strike, Scrubs was consistently in the low 3.0/5 to 3.8/6 range in average ratings. It only seems like the smart thing to do to put the higher rated NBC show in this Monday night slot.

Still Amusing Ourselves to Death in the 21st Century

Neil Postman’s book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, is considered by many communication experts to be a landmark book in the field of mass communication. It is over twenty years old and continues to be published. However, this makes some people wonder how relevant Postman’s book is in the twenty-first century.

Postman’s main idea, which is that public discourse is becoming centered around entertainment on television, is still relevant today. Just think about how much and what is on television today. Several network stations have programs, like Entertainment Tonight!, which focus entirely on the news of entertainers in Hollywood. As if, like Postman comments, the regular evening news is not entertainment enough, there are now shows like Entertainment Tonight! Network television stations are constantly coming up with newer and newer game shows, like Deal or No Deal, Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader, 1 vs. 100, and the list continues.

There are so many stations now compared to when Postman began writing that a person can spend minutes entertaining themselves just by flicking past channels until they find something which entertains them more. Not only are there more stations, but there is newer technology, like the internet, that helps spread the entertainment value of television to wider audiences. It is clear, by the end of the book, that television back in the 1980’s was becoming more entertainment oriented, and it only takes a few seconds to think about the amount of stations and what is on them today to understand nothing has changed since then.

I felt the book was also relevant in my personal life. When I thought about what I watch, I could not think of anything I watch on television that I watch for any other reason than for entertainment. It is because of the increase in stations and the amount of entertainment shown on these stations that I feel that this book is more relevant today than decades ago. More people need to read this book because it serves to make people aware and think about what they are watching, which I think is what Postman wanted people to do. By writing this book, Postman has not demonized television, but given Americans a book long warning of why it is important for them to be media literate and think critically about what is entertaining them on television.

Now You Know, and Knowing is Half the Battle, Citizen Joe!

Technology in the 21st century has changed the ways in which Americans live. The I pod has changed the way Americans listen to music, advanced video game systems have changed the way people get their entertainment, and now the internet, and more specifically citizen journalism websites, have changed the news industry.

One citizen journalism site, which has changed the news industry by changing the news perspective is a website called citizenjoe.org. This website is completely devoted to delivering national political news to as many Americans as possible. The major way it is reshaping the news perspective is by bringing back a sense of social responsibility to the news. This website's purpose is to create a forum in which every American can participate in politics or become informed about politics. It is not concerned with bringing a political agenda to the news, and it is the most objective news website on the internet. A group of editors monitor articles and make sure that Citizen Joe represents each political party equally in terms of coverage. There is even a section on the website that rates the editor's political views so a person can see where the editor stands on political issues.

The website's content matches perfectly with the goal which Citizen Joe states it keeps. There goal is not to appeal to Americans' emotions, but to simply bring them the news. Certainly even Citizen Joe is constrained by some news-framing influences. They have limited resources that force them into deciding what to place on their website, and they have a geographic focus, which places all the emphasis on national government, instead of state government. Citizen Joe may also have to turn to a marketing approach, especially if they cannot receive enough donations since they are a non-profit organization. However, even with some of these concerns, Citizen Joe is carrying on their social responsibility of bringing the news to the people. By keeping with this responsibility, they have become the preeminent communication medium that presents news as a reflection of reality, not a construction by journalists. Now if only our politicians' ideas to help this country would become a reflection of reality!

Survivor is Back

"I think the fans versus favorites setup is the ultimate challenge because we have the favorites who have obviously played the game before, coming in here with experience. But at the same time you have us (the fans) and we know their game. We know not only their strengths but weaknesses too. So I think that puts us at a huge advantage."- Alexis



Alexis may think that the fans have an advantage over the veterans, but she is making some mistakes in terms of media literacy. For one thing, she is assuming that what she sees on the program is the complete reality.

The program may seem like complete reality, but it is purposely not. The producers of Survivor are able to use next-step reality to make the program appear very realistic while swaying from the complete truth. The actual footage they show on the program and the editing they use may present a picture that does not portray the true daily life of the contestants or their personalities.

Consequently, Alexis is believing that what she sees on the program is the complete truth. Plus, considering she is a rabid fan, it is possible she fell into a state of automaticity, which convinced her what she saw on Survivor was the complete truth.

Even though Alexis believes the fans have an advantage of watching the veterans on television, they really do not. The fans are misinformed about the truths about the program. Even if the fans were very media literate, they still would have no real idea of how the veterans really interact or what it is really like to be on Survivor as a contestant.

Max Headroom

The Max Headroom episode shown in class was so full of media references to media literacy that it is hard not to walk away from watching the episode without seeing some type of example of media literacy.

There are many facets to media literacy, but what the episode focused on was the facet of how the media presents news messages, and how this makes people feel like they are informed. The episode focuses on the issue of how informed viewers of media are because in the episode people sold a false story to a news station.

For the viewers in the episode, they get the feeling as if the story is informing them. However, they fall into a media literacy trap of having a false sense of being informed. Many of the viewers probably went back into a state of automaticity, which led them to accept the surface meanings of the fake terrorist story.

On the other hand, Edison Carter and the news crew of Network 23, represent, in some ways, the media literate viewer. They questioned and analyzed the real information behind the fake terrorist story. By doing this, they demonstrated why it is useful to be media literate.