Media Literacy (Technology Fluency & Fluidity)

As technology advances and society evolves, there has become a great need for media literacy. Society has become heavily-reliant on technology as a means of communication and gaining information. This is especially the case with the rise of social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, where users can instantly share and view information about not only their communities but the world.

"A general trend of the development of media literacy as well as new media literacy is that the importance of media literacy is brought back to the educational agenda when there is a new media technology that causes collective anxiety in the society" (Lin 2010).In other words, the introduction of a new technology brings technology back to the forefront again. New technology is almost treated like a new enemy, and in this light, instead of running away from it or even fighting it, we are taught to embrace it, strategically use it, and implement it into our daily lives. We are well aware this new technology may never go away; if anything it, it will further evolve into something else that we must come to learn and accept.Lin, T.-B. (2010). Conceptualising media literacy: Discourses of media education. Media education research journal, 1(1), 29-42.

What is traditional literacy? "With the emerging new media technologies in the beginning of 21st century, traditional literacy is no longer sufficient for an individual to competently survive in this new media ecology" (Lin, Li, Deng, & Lee, 2013).According to Elkins and Luke, traditional literacy is the "the capacity to read, for instance, science and history textbooks, to engage with novels" (1999). However, traditional literacy alone is no longer sufficient for surviving in our technology-saturated environment.As a personal example, my cousins are not technology savvy. They do not use social media because they are afraid of it. However, technology is such an important part of our evolving culture--social media especially. It has become the means of looking up information about people as well as a means of communication. I reminded them that social media also puts them in contact with people in their field and people that they will be going to school with (they are training to be veterinarians). It allows them to communicate and receive instant information about events and projects. Elkins, J., & Luke, A. (1999). Redefining adolescent literacies. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 43(3), 212.Lin, T., Li, J., Deng, F., & Lee, L. (2013). Understanding New Media Literacy : An Explorative Theoretical Framework. Educational Technology & Society, 16(4), 160–170.

Consuming and Prosuming Content "For instance, an individual have to read and understand others’ ideas before they create media contents to respond. On the other hand, the ‘functional’ literacy refers to individuals’ ‘textual meaning making and use of media tools andcontent’" (Lin, 2013).Consuming information is the information that is taken in. Learners synthesize and evaluate the information to make it relevant to them.Prosuming content refers to the output of information. Once information has become understandable or relatable, learners can now create content that reflects their understanding. They are able to actively use and apply the information.

As technology advances and society evolves, there has become a greater need for media literacy. In the article, Lin et al. mentions that in a society so reliant on technology traditional literacy alone is not enough to survive in a technology evolving society. Technology is so broad that it has become such an important part of our world. It seems literally impossible now to function without it, as it has become the means of exchanging information among individuals in our community, nation, and world. We use it to understand and synthesize information (consuming) and interpret it into our own terms using tangible or visual concepts (prosuming). In this precept of consuming and prosuming, we are solidifying information not only into memory but making it a part of our lives.It is also fascinating how we must learn to adapt to technology. In the article, Lin et al states that the introduction of new technology brings technology back to the forefront of education. In another sense, new technology is almost treated like a new enemy, and in that light, instead of running away from it or even fighting it, we are taught to embrace it, strategically use it, and implement it into our daily lives. We are well aware this new technology may never go away; if anything it, it will further evolve into something else that we must come to both learn and accept.