Tips to Become a Media and Information Literate person

Our world is now almost covered with advanced technology. Most of the population is now using Internet and Internet has already played a huge part of our daily life. As a beneficiary of the lessons I've learned from my Media and Information Literacy class, I will share my knowledge and give tips to become a Media and Information Literate person in terms of image, text, film, new media, and social media.

IMAGE

• Image Manipulation

This issue may give advantages for businesses to get more sales but the disadvantages of it is that image manipulation is a very effective deception to audiences. A very common example of this is "airbrushing" or removing any imperfection that is used to the women in glossy magazine covers. This is very alarming for many women because they could embrace these impressions in real life and may think that these images present the perfect idea of beauty of a woman.

Source: modernhealthmonk.com

• Image Grabbing

It's very easy to grab any image from the Internet, just do copy/paste or save it. There's no problem if you'll just save those as collections but if you will repost them online without their permission or citing the source, that's the problem. If that will happen, you are committing an act of plagiarism which is punishable by law.

TEXT

• Plagiarism

Students most likely do this especially for their homeworks, school papers etc. and they are not citing the sources where they got the answers. Also for college graduates, who were discovered to have plagiarized their thesis works, were doomed and didn't get their diplomas because stealing is bad. In order to avoid these situations, simply cite the sources and quote the passages from their owners. Again, plagiarism is punishable by law so be extra careful.

Source: plagiarismchecker.net

• News

News makes us aware of our surroundings and gets us updated to what is happening around us. But be careful in reading news articles which may give you false information from untrusted sources. Make sure that the publishing/news company is trusted and valid. Also, there are kinds of journalism which are broadsheet (formal) and tabloid (informal and biased) so be very observant.

FILM

• Piracy

This is very crucial for film makers. It is just not that their works are stolen and being disseminated but they lose a large amount of their expected profit. Be fair with the film makers and watch their products in a legal way, so their hardwork could be paid off fair and square.

Source: huffingtonpost.com

• Camcording

This is related to piracy but the difference is recording the film as you watch it in the cinema/theaters or taking pictures of it. This is illegal and there is a law regarding to it, the Anti-Camcording Law (Republic Act No. 10088). We should not tolerate this activity.

NEW MEDIA (Internet and ICT)

• Digital Divide

There are two generations of people for digital technology, the digital immigrants and digital natives. Digital immigrants are the ones who were born without digital technology yet and still needs to learn and study digital technologies in order for them to use them. Digital natives are the ones who were born surrounded by digital technologies and also grew up with them thus there is no need for them to learn these at all. I am a digital native myself. Sometimes, we boast of knowing how to operate a gadget while others can't. We should not develop this kind of behavior of being superior to others. As digital natives, we should lessen the gap between the two.

Source: randrmagonline.com

• Public Safety and Security Issues Online

Cybercrime is very relevant nowadays. Criminals hack through accounts to steal money. They will do everything for the sake of money. Also, they can be form of viruses and malware which destroy computer-operated systems. We should be always extra careful to avoid any loss and problems.

SOCIAL MEDIA

• Cyberbullying

It is a kind of bullying through online. Sending or posting mean messages, threats, public shaming or humiliation are some examples of cyberbullying. It has a great impact to the emotional capacity of its victim and may lead them to depression, anxiety, or worse, death. Before we do this kind of act to others, we must put ourselves into their shoes and see how it feels to be shamed. So, we must put a stop into this kind of act because it can save numerous lives. Just report them to the authorities or to the admins of a social media website.

Source: medicalnewstoday.com

• Flaming and Trolling

Flaming just want to disrupt an online discussion by sending negative messages and comments while trolling posts inflammatory or false articles for the sake of deceiving others. These must not be tolerated because the ones who are doing these acts are considered to be toxic and without manners. Just ignore them but if they still continue, report and block them.

As 21st century citizens, technology will continue to revolve into our everyday lives. We must have the knowledge and know how to use and to deal with them properly and effectively.