Media Literacy: Definitions

Media literacy focuses on the critical evaluation of information disseminated through mass media. The concept has taken on new dimensions with the increasing circulation of online misinformation and disinformation. These definitions from a variety of sources explain the concept of media literacy and its importance to modern life.

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The Center for Media Literacy states that media literacy is a framework to access, analyze, evaluate, create and participate with messages in a variety of forms — from print to video to the Internet. Media literacy builds an understanding of the role of media in society as well as essential skills of inquiry and self-expression necessary for citizens of a democracy.

According to the National Association of Media Literacy Educators, media literacy is “[t]he ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act using all forms of communication.”

Additional Definitions

Action for Media Education

“Media literacy is the practice of critically evaluating, creating, and or using media. To be media literate, one must be aware of the influence media has on them and apply this knowledge by taking an active stance towards consuming and creating media.”

Association for Media Literacy

“Media literacy is the knowledge and skills necessary to understand and use the codes and conventions of a wide variety of media forms and genres appropriately, healthily, effectively and ethically. Media literacy also aims to provide people with the ability to create and distribute their own media products.”

Media Literacy Now

“[T]he ability to: Decode media messages (including the systems in which they exist); Assess the influence of those messages on thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; and Create media thoughtfully and conscientiously.”