media literacy

The first thing I did while googling media literacy was take a quiz called how media literate are you? (http://www.justthink.org/about/how-media-literate-r-u) It grades you on a scale of one to six (I was a four), and it labels you as an animal. I am apparently a media moth; I have interest in the world, but I am very gullible.

The mass media affects how we perceive and understand the world and people around us, from what we wear, eat and buy to how we relate to ourselves and others. In the 21st century, the ability to interpret and create media is a form of literacy as basic as reading and writing.

One article I found interesting was screen violence and how children respond to it (http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/article576.html). The authors listed six characteristics of violence in film and how likely children are to imitate these acts.

"In the privacy of our living rooms we made a devil's bargain with the advertising industry: Give us an endless flow of free programs and we'll let you spend 12 minutes of every hour promoting consumption. For a long time, it seemed to work. The ads grated on our nerves but it was a small price to pay for 'free' television." "What we didn't realize when we made our pact with the advertisers was that their agenda would eventually become the heart and soul of television. We have allowed the most powerful communications tool ever invented to become the command center of a consumer society defining our lives and culture the way family, community and spiritual values once did." (Kalle Lasn, a co-founder of the Canadian media criticism and environmentalist magazine Adbusters) (http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/rr3.php)