Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and produce communication in a variety of media forms. Those forms include television, print, radio, CDs, the Internet, computers, videos and video games. Media dominate our political and cultural lives. Media provide powerful models for values and behavior. Media influence us without our being aware.
Media literacy can increase our enjoyment of media.
Media literacy can make a passive relationship active. Becoming mediate literate doesn't mean learning through media. It means learning about media. Parents who want to help their children become media literate can begin by analyzing and evaluating some of the media messages they watch, hear or experience together. Questions like these encourage media consumers to develop an active relationship with the media instead of simply being a passive recipient of it.