Media Literacy

 What is the role of media in our society?

People use media for tons of different things, but in the end it all comes down to the
same one: taking a part in society and keeping up with the latest trends, or the
changes of the world. Sometimes even blindly just follow the crowd and not actually
be aware of the reality, which is the dangerous part of media. The simplest use of
media is the exchange of information, which plays a big role in everybody’s life, since
this is how we learn, and create opinions.

 Why is it important to check the identity of the source and to asess what media
channel they used?
The answer is pretty simple: nowadays people tend to create false informations, so-
called ’fake news’. Luckily we got to a point, where we’re actually able to tell which
media channels or platforms might spread these fake news and where we should be
more cautious and use a more critical mindset. By identifying the source of the news,
we are making sure that the read content is actually true.

 What are the pros and cons of getting news from social media?
For pros i would say it’s an easy way of collecting information, or like i mentioned
earlier, just keeping up with what’s going on in the world. You can search through
many different sites in a very short time, so in the end you can create your own
opinion on the topic. For cons i would definitely say fake news, because it really is a
big danger, not to mention how annoying it is, never knowing whether what we’re
reading is accurate. By reading different opinions about a story, people can also get
into fights, sometimes even anonymously.

 Do you have any social media habits you would like to change?
Yes, to be honest I don’t read news as much as I would want to. I usually hear big
news from my friends, and many times I feel quite bad and even a bit ashamed when
I’m not that familiar with the content of the conversation. That’s why I want to
change my habit and read more and more news, so that I’ll know what’s happening
around me in the world.

 What is the difference between a fact and an opinion?

I do believe that every fact that we know now, started out as just one person’s
opinion, that later the whole society accepted. So now the difference is that opinions
are only one person’s thoughts on a topic, and even if many people share the same
opinion, that won’t make a fact, because that’s not the commonly accepted truth.
Facts might just be opinions, that are commonly accepted by the whole society.
 Can you think of an example where the same piece of information can be
presented/framed two (or more) completely different ways?
The first thing that popped in my mind is the situation with famous men being
accused of sometimes verbal, but mostly physical abuse of women. In these cases
people are more likely to believe the woman who accused the man, and in general I
would too, but in this world we’ve heard tons of stories where the man has only been
accused because the woman wanted a little bit of fame and big fortune. So now
when I hear about something like this, I don’t know who or what to believe anymore.
Good example for this is the trial of Johnny Depp and his ex wife, Amber Heard,
which is happening these days.