It is no doubt that India is developing nation and it has to cover long way to become a developed nation. Media education is something which will empower the people as well as society to reach out the correct information. Media education is way ahead from media literacy. It is the advance knowledge that is provided to the people which is way ahead from media literacy, which is just the introduction about the media. The penetration and popularity of digital media has provided tons of content to the people. The big question is that how far all of this content are valid and reliable. Media education is the way through which the people will get the knowledge and acumen to decide in their favour what to consume and what to ignore. Media education is not only related to the content consumption but in future it will also empower the people to become content creator. In short, it can be said that the participation and engagement of the audience as a content creator will automatically increase with the proper media education. So it is the way through which the society will know where to search the correct information and how to process that information to get changes in their life. In simple, if somebody has to find how to get the benefit of Ujjwala Yojana which is the flag bearer scheme of national government. Then he can search for it on the Internet and by this way he can get the benefit of the Yojana by knowing where to apply and in case there is any problem then where to lodge the grievances. So nowadays media education has become integral part of the society if we have to reach the parameter of holistic development.
Media education refers to the process of teaching individuals about media literacy and how to critically engage with media. It involves providing individuals with the skills and knowledge needed to navigate the media landscape, understand media messages, and make informed decisions about the media they consume and create.
Media education typically involves teaching individuals about the different types of media, such as print, digital, and visual media. It also involves teaching them about the various techniques used to create media messages, such as framing, bias, and propaganda. In addition, media education focuses on teaching individuals how to analyze and evaluate media messages, including understanding the role of media in shaping attitudes and behaviors.
Some of the important points under this topic are-
Knowledge about the medium:- Media education is the way through which the proper knowledge about the medium can be provided to the citizen. This is to make them know how the media works and what is the nature and background of the medium. What is the power and special about print medium. Again what is the speciality and power of electronic media. What is the best way to reach out the ruler people. Is the answer is radio or traditional media? Again what medium can offer special content to the people and how far one medium is way ahead from other medium. How the content are being framed or manufactured for each and every medium. How far the people are impacted when the same message is being provided by different medium. Which type of message is appropriate for which type of medium. This is all about media education and once again I will say that this is way ahead from media literacy which is just the basics but this is not this but is way ahead from the basics knowledge. It has some aspect of critical analysis and evolution also.
Power of judgement:- When the proper make education is provided to the people then of course it will help them to judge the nature of the content the quality of the content. In the era of digital media the medium is full of the content but it is very hard to decide which particular content is valid one. So it is only the media education which will help the people to decide the correct way about the nature of the content. Consuming correct content will definitely help the people as well as society to move further in a correct and desired direction. So it is the power of judgement through which they will know where to get the correct content and how much content is necessary for consumption per day or per hour. Nowadays there is the problem related to the overconsumption of media content and these things are making people lethargic and slow in their life. So this is the media education that will impart them the correct knowledge about the proper usage of media content. The power to judge when to switch off the TV or mobile or laptop. The power of judgement itself will help people to decide or judge about the healthy entertainment and unhealthy entertainment. Again I'll mention that the platforms are flooded with the content. Now we have to decide which particular content is healthy for our mind and our body and which particular content is acidic in nature. And this media education will help the people to decide in a correct an appropriate way.
For Growth Of Democratic Values:- Democratic principle believes in the freedom of expression, expression through thoughts, through ideas, through words, through pictures and all of the means of expression. Even the Constitution also provides the liberty of expression. The freedom of expression also said that the people are empowered to be silent when they think so. Nobody can compel them to speak. The main question here is that what to speak, how to speak and when to speak. The common people has no idea about this priority. They keep on talking without having proper instance and element in their conversation. So talking without any logic has no any meaning an outcome. Again the media education will make the people a better speaker and orator. They will have the proper idea from media education that which is the proper time and and proper platform to raise their grievances. And once something is put in a correct manner, then only the desired result is observed. Even it is being said that for healthy working of democracy the fourth pillar that is media itself should get the freedom. So working of media in answerable way to the society is a sign of healthy democracy. Media education will help out the people to make sure that media gets proper freedom to read, write and express. Ultimately it is the democracy itself which benefits from this all positivity.
To contain fake news:- Fake news is so big issue nowadays. Internet is flooded with the fake news. The people hardly came to know that which one is correct news and which one is fake news. They are unable to differentiate between both the news. In some example, the fake news seems to be more real and genuine then the real news. Media education will properly empower the people to differentiate between fake news and real news. The education will make them to know where to crosscheck the news about its validity. And once they come to know that this particular piece of news is fake one then what action they have to take. These are all the curriculum of media education. This is very important because we have witness that there has been the cases of riots and other violence on the basis of fake news. So this particular syndrome cannot be took as a casual one. With the proper media education, we can contain the fake news and the people will not believe once they come to know that this particular piece of news is fake one.
To save people from fraud:- Media is full with the news which contains the news related to fraud that happens with the common people. In the absence of correct knowledge, they are not able to judge the nature of the piece of information that surfaced on their mobile phone or on their email. The message is in such a enticing way that they come to believe that this particular message is correct one. And once they clicked up on that particular message, then they come to know that they are been cheated by some people who are invisible. The nature of crime is in such a manner that even it is very hard to establish who has done it from where it is being carried on. So only the way which can save from such a crime is proper knowledge about the nature of message and this is the only way to fight the fraud that is going on in the large scale. How to know which particular site is correct one. How to judge which particular link we have to click. What are the types of fraud? What are the modus of operandi. This all be taught through the digital media education or in short media education. And so I think that it is very important to be digitally smart if we want to secure ourself from digital fraud.
Media education can take place in various settings, such as schools, universities, community centers, and online. It can be integrated into different subject areas, such as language arts, social studies, and technology. Media education can also involve hands-on activities, such as creating media content, which helps individuals to develop their media literacy skills.
The goal of media education is to empower individuals to become critical consumers and creators of media content. By developing media literacy skills, individuals can better understand the role of media in shaping society and become more informed and engaged citizens.
