Media Usage and Effects: Understanding Media Literacy

Media Usage and Effects

What Are Your Personal Goals For Tuning In To The Messages You Are Currently Receiving? 

Are You Actively Interpreting The Messages You Receive, Or Are You Interpreting Them With An Automatic Response?

Do You Tend To Access The Same Channels For The Same Types Of Content? 

When Is The Last Time You Broadened Your Media Exposures By Tuning In To a New Source For Information?

Do Your Behaviors Match Your Beliefs Or Do They Match What Advertisers Want You To Believe?

Discuss Low Level Versus High Level Media Literacy, And Include One Example Of Each.

Why Is It Important To Gain Additional Control Over The Media To Which You Are Exposed?

Discuss The Significance And Impact That Media Literacy Has On Society.

In today’s world, media usage is affecting the individual behavior. Media is influencing both private and personal lives of individual. Media influenced our lives in such manner, that it became a decider of which product we are going to use. Media is moving the world nowadays.   People increasingly using social media to record and share their experiences.

Media usage playing a key role in our day-to-day activities, media has many effects on us, awareness of these effects can lead to understand media literacy and interpreting the message, we receive every day. I personally spend 5-6 hours on media; it is a part of my daily routine. Mobile usage is big part of my daily life, mobile is no longer only a communication utility it became a media distribution hub. I spend generally 1 hour on gaming, as there is a rise in gaming and drawing the interest of young people into it. Media has effects on us however, we look for high profile issue to determine the media effects but media has significant effects in our daily lifestyle. Key media literacy can provide media knowledge through which we can determine the media effects in our daily and we can decide to influence by those effects.

Based on timing media effects can be classified into categories as long term media effects and short term media effects, I personally spend much time on media I do have media effects, if we have knowledge of media effects then we can easily figure it out whether the effect is long term or it is short term. I personally tune in to media message in morning so that I can get the brief of what is happening around, also to access the latest news of world. Immediate effects by media noticed easily as compared to long-term effects, the reason behind this is that during exposure to a particular message, it is easy to link the connection between the message and its impact and we can easily conclude that there was a media effect. When I personally exposed to a message I actively retrieve it rather than retrieving it with automatic response, the reason behind this is I want to engage into that information received by my actively.

Sociocultural Theory and its Impact

There is theory named sociocultural theory, which is a prominent way to explain the influence of society and media on an individual, this theory argues that society and media influence individuals in terms of fashion and eating habits (Dye, 2016).  Each year eating disorders have been increasing in college students, in fact eating disorders found strongest between age group of 12 to 15 (Dye, 2016). Media effects can be positive, negative or neutral; the nature of effect decided either by individual or by society. Individual point of view to decide whether the effect is positive is that effect should satisfy personal needs and can achieve a personal goal.

If we look into the effect by societal point of view then effect is positive if it satisfy societal norms as peace, no threats and respect. There are various channels providing information to us, in my case if get a message or information from one channel I generally cross check it with other channels, the reason is to get the authentic news or information of the topic. That is why I do not rely on one channel for information.

When I feel bored I choose the intentional effect of media on myself, an intentional effect is the effect, which we deliberately chose for our own satisfaction. We generally expose ourselves to such effects to get satisfaction but during our satisfaction other unintentional effects also occur, unintentional effects have both effects that is they are long term as well as immediate. I personally unintentionally affected by mentioned affect, earlier I used to surf internet for satisfaction but it ended with internet addiction.

Earlier I access only television for gathering information, with period of time I found it boring, and then I thought of broadening of my media exposure by tuning into internet sources for information, browsing through different website over the internet  is interesting and it also keep informing about the latest updates of the world.

A belief is a faith about something, which is true; media continuously keep exerting a belief type effect on its users. Media use characters to exert belief effect by influencing the consumer, but we can simply decide whether we should accept those beliefs or reject them. Thus over passage of time media message gradually shaping our belief system. I do not influenced by this belief effect strategy of media, I chose my beliefs through my behavioral ideology, and I can decide what to believe and what not to believe. Belief about human relationship, attractiveness and success are the things which media tends to change.

Media literacy achieved by expanding the knowledge about media effect because we submerged by media saturated environment. Media literacy can be classified into two types low level media literacy and high-level media literacy. Low-level media literacy refers to understanding of media effects only in high profile cases and ignorance to the small effects. Example of low-level media literacy is when we see add on television and buy it and make perception about the topic. High-level media literacy understands the whole media effects on oneself, example I see advertisements on television but I do not influenced by advertiser this is an example of high-level media literacy. It is necessary to get the additional control over the media sources we exposed because exposition to the particular media source can influence our perception.

There is a significant impact of media literacy on society as it shapes the society; it helps to think critically, helps to become a smart consumer of the product we exposed. Studies shows the impact of television on individual behavior, participating in community activities, violence engagement etc. (Kumala Dewi et al., 2017).

Dye, , 2016. Does Internalizing Society and Media Messages Cause Body Dissatisfaction, in Turn Causing Disordered Eating? Journal of Evidence-Informed Social Work, 13(1), pp.217-27.

Kumala Dewi, , Suryadarma, & Suryahadi, , 2017. The impact of media on behaviour: Evidence from television coverage expansion and declining fertility in indonesia. Development policy review, 36(1), pp.552-63.