Luisa Tacorda MIL Reflection Paper #1

12- St. Ehrentrudis March 18, 2017

A MEDIA AND INFORMATION LITERATE: AN EMPORWERED CITIZEN

“Freedom of Speech doesn't justify online bullying. Words have power, be careful how you use
them.”- Germany Kent

Primarily, media is considered to be a huge part of every individual’s life at the 21 st

century. It is a relevant communication channel through which messages are being
disseminated. Moreover, an essential idea connected to media is the concept of media and
information literacy. Media and information literacy is a powerful knowledge which makes
media an even more influential tool in the realms of reality nowadays. It involves the ability to
access, analyze, evaluate, and create information through the utilization of media.

Personally, I consider myself as a media and information literate individual because I

know that I am guided accordingly regarding my actions utilizing media. As a responsible citizen
I properly define the role of media in my life. I see to it that I thoroughly understand the
fundamentals of various media and enjoy utilizing them cautiously. First of all, I truly control
myself to utilize my social media accounts in a responsible and positive way. Indeed, I make
social media accounts to stay updated and to cultivate my social life. On the side note, as we all
know, social media is a great access of individuals to different news. People get to know the life
of other people easily just by posting and scrolling on social media. There’s Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram and Snapchat which makes people connected locally and globally. However, these
social media accounts are being utilized as well to spread fake news and to perform ill works
online. For me, whenever a malicious issue is circulating online I don’t usually involve myself in
the issue as long as I do not fully understand the context of the whole problem. However, the
current situation nowadays is that individuals really felt that they are entitled in their thoughts,
feelings and opinions that they tend to easily share and post their opinions online. That is why
whenever there is a controversial issue circulating online they easily post their opinion without
even understanding the whole issue systematically. For me, I don’t have that habit of easily
giving my comment regarding any controversial issue especially when it does not affect me.
Personally, I don’t usually share my thoughts immediately regarding any controversial issue, not
because I am being apathetic, but because I want to understand first the whole issue before
sharing my opinion because I don’t want that at the end of the day I will regret involving myself
in the issue just because I did not meticulously understand the context of the whole problem at
first hand. Likewise, I also greatly practice the mantra “think before you click”. Before posting or
sharing anything online I see to it that I fully contemplate first to avoid making any negative
impact on other people. Also, I really think before posting online because I believe that
whatever I post online will reflect my personality. That is why my posts are truly filtered in
order to have a positive image online. A positive image that is not inclined in being famous or
popular but a positive image inclined in having a positive influence to other people in the
internet.

Furthermore, undeniably, there are various ways to promote medial and information
literacy. Personally, for me to become an agent of spreading media and information literacy I
would first of all raise awareness to the people around me in order for them to be
knowledgeable first of the topic. I believe that once a person is already knowledgeable then the
flow of influencing them to become media and information literate would be easy. In addition, I
would also start with myself. Certainly, it will be very impossible to influence other people to be
media and information literate if I myself is not one. As mentioned previously, I already
considered myself as a media and information literate. However, I still need to strengthen this
potential for me to have greater encouragement to others. Lastly, as I myself is a user of media
then I utilize media itself to promote knowledge regarding media and information literacy. As I
maintain a positive influence online, sharing information online regarding media and
information literacy can contribute to this positive influence. All in all, indeed, promoting media
and information literacy is very challenging task but there are still various ways available to
spread great awareness regarding media and information literacy.

Overall, in our world that is constantly changing digitally, we must not be confined to
the gray area of using technology but instead be a ray of light that utilizes the present
technological advancement in a positive way. For once, media and information literacy is a
great concept of being a critical user of the technological advancement in our society. As media
is one of the dominant channels affecting everyone’s life, being literate in using it is definitely a
must. Media and information literacy provides a framework for the society to have an
organized and efficient system of disseminating information. That is why all of the citizens must
learn and practice being a media and information literate to build a society that is truly
technologically advanced in a positive way. Lastly, being media and information literate is a
great way as well being an empowered citizen of the society.