Critical thinking and media literacy

 Critical thinking and media literacy 

It is a term applied to the analysis of data or ideas by using observation, experience, reasoning and logic in order to arrive at a conclusion. When we think critically, we try to go beyond understanding just the superficial elements of a text, idea or problem and we try to decipher the implicit intentions or arguments behind them and question these.

Through critical thinking, we can analyze messages to which we are exposed in the media.

Media are the channels through which humankind communicates. Media conveys meaning through different mediums such as television broadcasts, newspapers or films. Media includes radio, videos, recorded music, magazines, junk mail, comic books, computer software, the internet, video games, and advertisements.

What is media literacy?

This basically means that when we hear or look at media, we can miss elements that are not obvious or explicit. Media literacy is about learning to “read” media in order to find those underlying meanings in a text.

Media strategies: persuasion and perspective

Media texts, like other texts, seek to achieve something. Each text has a clear reason for being. Purposes can range from entertaining, to informing, to persuading, to making money, to explaining, to arguing and the text’s purpose is always linked to the target audience.

Remember that the elements in a text message are not there for no reason. They have a purpose.