You've probably heard at least some of these statements before.  Everyone talks about this thing called "the media."  It seems like a pretty big deal.  Something you need to know more about.

What's the best part about all these commonly heard statements about the media?  If you recognized them, it was because you had heard them through the media.  You heard someone say it on television, or you read about it in a newspaper or magazine, or you saw it on a website.  Or maybe somebody told it to you face-to-face.  But then again, where did they hear it?  Yep...in the media. 

Another statement about the media that has appeared recently is that, "People need to be media literate."  This means that people need to be actively aware and critical about what they read, hear, and see.  They need to ask more questions.  They need to understand the media better in order to make more informed decisions and also to pay attention to from whom and where they receive information and ideas.  So how do you do this?  WARM2Kids is here to help.  

You probably know people, not only your age but even your parents’ age, who believe everything they hear, whether or not it is sensible. They don’t have a clue about how to hear and see what is going on and being presented to them. They don’t take time to ask: Does what I am hearing, seeing or reading, make sense? Can I trust the source or person who’s telling me this? Should I check this out first just to make sure I’m not being conned? It is necessary to find out the truth when listening to the radio, watching television, or reading magazines.

The bottom line is: Everything you see and hear may NOT be true. That goes for stuff you see on sitcoms, reality shows, and a lot of other programs. It’s totally true that a lot of the TV commercials you watch and magazine advertisements are false!! There are always gimmicks, moneymaking schemes, fad diets, and “miracle” solutions to any problem that you may have. These quick fixes dupe a lot of people. Don’t be fooled.

Media Literacy is a pretty new kind of skill that helps you know the difference between what to believe and what not to accept as true. The media part of the phrase means information source, like books, magazines, radio, Internet and television. Add the word literacy to media and the combination means to be knowledgeable about how to interpret data that you receive from these information outlets. You must be able to see through all of the stuff the media blasts at you and decide for yourself what is accurate and what is nonsense.

The first step is to block out things that you know to be incorrect, and ask questions about things that you aren’t sure about in the media. There are no dumb question, so don’t be afraid to ask! WARM2Kids is here to help.