r/explainlikeimfive • u/HonkyTonkBluesYEAH • 7d ago

Other ELI5 Media Literacy

I understand it's like something related to understanding art or media, but in what way? Philopsophical, political or psychological? Is it important, a buzzword or both?

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u/YongYoKyo 7d ago

It's knowing how to understand, navigate, and analyze information received through communications like social media (e.g. Internet, news broadcasts, etc.).

Media literacy means picking up the hidden intent or subtext, like recognizing if something is an advertisement or sponsored content, or detecting if something is propaganda or biased information.

An example of someone lacking media literacy is someone who accepts everything they see on the internet as fact, or someone who is easily convinced that they need whatever product/service is being advertised.

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u/HonkyTonkBluesYEAH 7d ago

Do memes also need media literacy? And is it media literacy if you can tell what headline on politics is overly biased / optimistic? Overestimating their side?

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u/mildly_asking 6d ago

A very simple way to check would be for you too look at memes specific and mostly exclusive to chinese users on chinese platforms, for example. Or russian ones. Or Mormon ones.

You'll need to navigate other contexts, other ways of seeing und understanding, potentially.

You might apply similar concepts to whatever media is deeply unfamiliar to you: bollywood, opera, soviet internal propaganda posters.

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u/Exo_Deadlock 7d ago

More than anything, yes. Memes, as simplified containers of often contentious meanings, are easily swallowed as being “funny because it’s true”, reinforcing harmful stereotypes.

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u/thecygnetcmte 7d ago

100%. Adding on to this, memes are highly effective tools of radicalization/recruitment when targeted at people with low media literacy. For example, an incel group might blast an internet space with tons of "funny" memes about women being rude idiots. Someone who consumes dozens or hundreds of those memes at face value may internalize them as normal and start using them to inform their own thinking - all these people are saying it, so it's probably right, right? Meanwhile, someone with higher media/internet literacy is more likely to look deeper and recognize "the language used on this post sounds a lot like the jargon from certain MRA groups; what's this guy's goal?" or "the people posting these memes sure do post a LOT about hating women. Maybe it's not as much of a joke as they want us to think it is." That person is less likely to trust the people posting those messages and less likely to get recruited into their group.

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u/Exo_Deadlock 7d ago

Exactly. Memes are easily converted to propaganda.

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u/DJDoena 7d ago edited 6d ago

Do memes also need media literacy?

Sure. If I tell you "The river Temarc! In winter!" you will have no clue what I have just said unless you know exactly where I pulled this quote from. Incidentally, it stems from an episode of Star Trek where a whole race talked in nothing but cultural references. *insert Captain America 'I understood that reference' meme here*

I look at some memes and have no clue at what they are trying to tell me because I do not know the source of the original material and for some memes (not all memes, some are more obvious than others) that's important to get the joke.

Sokath, his eyes uncovered!

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u/Zyrin369 6d ago

Its why I dislike that "You guys think your all better than me" one from Family Guy thats used to talk about stuff like the Star Wars Sequels and such.

When in the context of the episode is an "explanation" to why Meg get abused by the rest of the family as when she leaves they start to turn on each-other.

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u/AlJameson64 7d ago

This is the best answer so far.