What is Digital Media Literacy and Why Does It Matter?

Can you trust everything you see online? You may want to think twice before hitting that share button.

The internet is an important tool that has helped democratize the spread of information. In the pre-internet days, you would have needed a TV station or a newspaper printing press to reach a large audience. With the internet, anyone can now share information and connect with people worldwide, all in a matter of seconds!

Unfortunately, this powerful tool is sometimes used by bad actors to spread unfounded or misleading information. With anyone now able to share online via social media, it can be hard to tell if what you see is accurate. You can’t take each Facebook post at face value; not everyone on X (formerly Twitter) is an expert.

When erroneous information is shared, it may not be intentional; this is referred to as misinformation. Someone tried to share something, but it missed the mark. Others purposely share inaccurate information that they know is untrue; this is called disinformation. These individuals are being dishonest and may stand to benefit by causing confusion around a topic.

Being media literate refers to an individual’s ability to properly analyze and assess the information they encounter through media like television, newspapers, books, radio, and other channels. Digital media literacy is specifically about those forms of media available online, such as social media and online news outlets. More people now get their news online on their phones rather than traditional methods like newspapers and television. With Artificial Intelligence (AI) now able to generate text, images, audio, videos, and entire websites, deciphering what is real is crucial to being an informed consumer of online content.

Mid-Continent Public Library is hosting classes on Digital Media Literacy to help our communities build important skills that will allow them to assess the information they see when navigating the internet confidently. Sign up for one of these classes happening at a branch near you.

If you would like to learn more about how emerging technologies affect our lives, check out the Facing the Future speaker series, where we host discussions with tech experts and authors to discuss these important topics.

Brad Smith
Digital Innovation Department