Each new class of Berry students are being raised in an increasingly technological world. The main source of information for anything and everything is the media and its various components. Students find print media scanned and uploaded onto the web to use for research, but most of the general information they need on a daily basis comes from sources that originate online. These sources include websites, social media, news media, blogs, podcasts, advertisements and more.
The media is a marvelous, helpful way of getting an abundance of information quickly. However, it also has many pitfalls, and people can stumble into traps while using it. Information gathered from a medium can be biased, unreliable, misleading, or straight up wrong. It is not always easy to figure out what information is actually accurate, an issue that is becoming more prominent as humans become increasingly reliant on the media.
Media scams are the reason that Berry students, and students everywhere, should be required to complete a course in media literacy. According to Dictionary.com, media literacy is “the ability or skills to critically analyze for accuracy, credibility, or evidence of bias the content created and consumed in various media.” Having strong media literacy makes it less likely that one will become a victim of a media scam.
A media literacy course would involve the use of various forms of media to teach students how to use the media in a safe and effective way. Students would be taught how to decipher what is misinformation, how information is adapted to target specific audiences, and the influence of media on society as a whole. They would learn how to create their own media, how to access different types of media, and how to evaluate its biases.
The idea of a media literacy course being important for students is not new. Many colleges already offer courses in media literacy, some even offering a minor in it. For example, Ithaca College, Arizona State University, Brooklyn College, and more give students the opportunity to improve their media literacy in a classroom setting.
Schools that already offer a course do not always mandate that every student must take it though. Most students only take courses that count towards foundation requirements and the courses needed for their major and minor. This means that, unless schools let media literacy fulfill a foundation course, the vast majority of students will not take it. Even still, students may choose to take a different course that fulfills the same requirement. This is just not acceptable.
Before being permitted to graduate, every student should take a media literacy course. For Berry, this adjustment may be fairly simple. All freshmen are already required to take BCC 100. Berry should make it where freshmen also need to complete a media literacy class, even if it is only a one credit hour class like BCC 100. If it is done this way, the class will not cause too much extra stress for students, but they will still get all of the valuable information they need to help them navigate the media for the rest of their lives. Just like the required speech class, the media literacy course would instill in students skills that will always be necessary.
In addition to the personal gains that come with this class, students would also gain an advantage in their career. They will be much more marketable and competitive if they are able to properly utilize the media. Companies want to hire people that have multiple skill sets as opposed to people that are only adept at their major. Since the media is growing increasingly influential, media literacy is becoming one of the most valued skills when companies are hiring.
Media literacy allows for students to successfully navigate the media and all of its drawbacks. A class in this topic would help students in their personal lives as well as their careers. Colleges should make completing a media literacy course a requirement for graduation.