What is the benefit of having a PLN that values media literacy?

I think that Julie’s perspective on having a PLN that values media literacy was bang on when she said that a constant stream of people to expand on your ideas is the main benefit. As Julie elaborated, media literacy is one of (if not the single) most important skill in the modern world because it is so necessary in daily life in our online world, and media literacy. To add to this, children and young adults absolutely must become completely media literate, as the future will certainly contain more technology than it does today. If my entire generation and the generation below me becomes media literate, the spread of fake news will be reduced exponentially, as well as one’s critical thinking ability will grow. Media literacy is often dismissed as unimportant due to the online aspect, and many people of the older generations believing that it will be possible to do things “the old-fashioned way” in the future, when that is becoming less and less likely. It is important to recognize that media literate PLN’s must contain varying opinions, as to not create an echo chamber and to be able to verify various reports to not allow for fake articles, news, and other documents.

 

Open dialogue about media literacy and factual information can create conflict, why does this happen?

Conflict often happens when people with varying opinions are presented with facts online due to the rhetoric (borderline propaganda) that is consumed online, often aligning with one’s political views. As everyone knows, politics is to never be spoken of at family dinners to avoid conflict – this ‘rule’ is such because of strong (often opposing) political views, creating a hostile environment when one party is faced with facts that are not of the same nature that they have been consuming, leading to an epiphany regarding the truth in media. The same goes for media literacy; When fake news is being shared and consumed so widely, many people simply believe what they see on the internet and re-share it, leading to widespread misinformation campaigns usually targeting those of a different mindset or ideology. This is often occurring due to a complete lack of media literacy, and if media literacy was simply taught more at a young age, this worldwide problem of fake information can be shrunk by multitudes.

 

References:

Miller J. (2020). EDCI 338 A01- Smith Julie. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_T9RghwJlI&feature=youtu.be

Trilling, B., & Fadel, C. (2012). 21st century skills: Learning for life in our times. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.