Accessing Media and Information Literacy

"Accessing Media and Information Literacy," in the centre with blue lines above and below title on a navy background with a white border. 

In the digital world, we are surrounded by more media and information than ever before at the tips of our fingers. As the media is utilized to connect with us, it is crucial to know how to engage with the media. In order to do it effectively as a global citizen, you would need media and information literacy. 

According to the National Association for Media Literacy Education, media literacy is “the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act using all forms of communication.” It is part of participating in democratic society as the media is central for information and communication. In a DW Akademie discussion paper, competencies that we need to foster in media and information literacy expands on the definition such as,

1. The ability to access and locate suitable media and information sources

2. The ability to use and understand media and information in order to apply it to one’s daily life

3. The ability to evaluate the credibility, accuracy and objectivity of sources

4. The ability to create and produce media and information

5. The ability to participate by knowing how and where to interact with creators and editors of media and information

6. The ability to understand the workings of media and information systems, their organization and how information is produced

7. The ability to recognize, demand and defend quality media and information sources.

In the spirit of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) week, it is important to highlight how important media and information literacy is and how the inaccessibility of media can be hindering access to such literacy. Media and Information Literacy (MIL) week, according to the United Nations, was created due to “…the need for the dissemination of factual, timely, targeted, clear, accessible, multilingual and science-based information. 

With media and information, there needs to be an understanding of the information (audio, visual, and written) as well as tone, body language and environment to best interpret the intention of the information. From platform limitations, to not considering different sensory options, and the choice surrounding language and visuals all have an impact.

Platforms: Web accessibility and platform accessibility are still a concern. While we would love if everything was automatically done for us, it is usually manual and requires an individual to review the content to ensure that everyone can access it. Many people do not know about the accessibility considerations or utilize it for a different purpose that is not information friendly for persons with disabilities. This requires awareness, education, training, and knowledge sharing to ensure that quality and timely access can be achieved. 

Sensory: Connecting to platforms, considering different sensory needs is critical to obtaining information. This requires using captioning, visual descriptions, alt. text, and so much more (depending on the content) to provide access. While there are artificial intelligence (AI) options, it can still be inaccurate due to local, regional, national, and international differences in language, body language, and tone. 

Use of language and visual: Being able to express concepts in simple, everyday terms is critical. Unless the environment is specific, it should not be common to expect everyone to come across content to understand everything, especially industry specific acronyms. Similar expectations for visuals as well, it needs to be clear for anyone to come on if information is the goal. From colour contrast to wording to images, it is crucial to review information with everyone in mind for both understanding and accessibility. Language and visuals are commonly utilized to to catch attention but it should not limit the accessibility of the information.

Without those considerations, there will be people who cannot access media let alone utilize, evaluate, and act on the media. Media and information literacy is great and should be taught and nurtured for a stronger democracy and society. But, it needs to be accessible for everyone if this is a goal as a society.

Amanda