What are the benefits of Media Literacy Education?

Benefits

According to “Teaching Media Literacy: Its Importance and 10 Engaging Activities”, there are several benefits to educating students about media. Some of these benefits include:

Recognizing point of view
Improving critical thinking skills
Linking content with students’ interests
Can show the relevancy of different subjects
It is important for students to see how media can connect to many different areas of their lives, including school. Showing this relevance can allow students to develop media literacy knowledge.

What happens when children do not get a quality media literacy education?

It is important for students to have plenty of knowledge on how to navigate a world full of media. Information can often be presented in a false or harmful way. According to the website “What is Media Literacy”, media presence can oftentimes have an overwhelming or negative impact on children. Some of these things include:

Online Safety
Cyberbullying
Incorrect Information
Low self-Esteem
Depression and Suicide
Substance Abuse and Risky Behaviors
Negative Body Image

Media Literacy helps prevent these negative effects. By helping students become more literate, they will not be able to distinguish the good information from the harmful information. Less negative impacts will then happen.