christiantorcende-blog

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The Future of Media No man has clear vision of the future, how things will go and what may change, one can only guess and time will tell. New media is theorized to eventually replace print and broadcast media but I beg to differ, while New Media may indeed be much more efficient compare to the other types of Media, I still think that "replacing" is too much of a word. I think that all types of media are needed and useful in their own ways because even till today here in the Philippines, there are still folks living traditionally without the help of the Internet or technology. Poverty also has a huge part in terms of replacing New Media because in terms of cost, the traditional printed and broadcast media are still much cheaper and affordable for the masses. I think a different outcome would be converging New Media to the other types of Media like the way we used to deliver messages through Mail but with the convergence, we now have E-Mails. But if ever New Media do replace print and broadcast media, I think that it will require a lessening in the amount of cash needed to pay the internet and perhaps a lower cost for smarthphones in order for everyone/ almost everyone to be able to avail to them. Even then, I still think that no matter how fast our progress are, we should not eradicate our roots, our history and where we came from. I think that all forms of media deserve recognition for their own ways and usefulness and whatever the future may hold years from now I hope that we are moving towards the direction that benefits the people, animals and the world as a whole.

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Understanding the Relevance of Information Literacy in the Midst of Social Era

In my own humble opinions, Information makes up most of this world even since the beginning of times. We require information in order to move forward, to take action and decisions and basing your decision on false information will most likely lead to devastation. During the era before our current one, the era filled with war and destruction, Information played a huge role in winning or losing. The side which garnered the most relevant and accurate information has a huge advantage over the other which is why the birth of Spies arise. In the field of medicine, depending on the accuracy, information may or may not save a life because the action u take is based on the information you have. Even in the simpliest things such as knowing the exam dates can lead to huge results, if you knew in advance then a student can prepare for it and be ready when exams take place and if he/she is not aware, then most likely that student will procrastinate and take time for granted.

Before the rise of the Internet and the entering of the Information Age, Information were already a big game changer to situations, how much more now that we are in this Social Era were information can be acquired with just a small piece of technology known as Smartphones and because of this the relevance of Information Literacy skyrocketed. We are now living in a world with a much more liberty than it used to be, we can now access and share information easily but the downside is that if we lack the skill of Information Literacy then a person can be easily deceived and be led astray by the amount of false information known as “Fake News” that’s circulating around. What I’m trying to point out is that, reacting on an accurate information will most likely lead you to the best option but basing your actions on false information will 99% lead you to the wrong decisions which makes Information Literacy not an option but an integral piece of skill amidst the social era we are in.

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In this Information Age where with the help of the Internet, informations are easily accessed and easily shared this various platforms that help voice out the thoughts and opinions of the masses emerged. The Philippines is a Democratic country which means the sovereignty lies in the hands of its people, making the Media a huge part of this relationship. Media helps gather a lot of people to perhaps help a certain Government Party or at the very least advertises said party helping them win the election. The Love-Hate relationship of the Media and Government stems from the illiteracy of the majority of people. The illiteracy of basing decisions from some dirty money given to voters and flowery words such as " If I win this election, I promise to help and give back to the people" which if ever there exists a book of lies said by politicians, such promises would be on top of the list of overused lies but, without the proper use of Media and Information Literacy, Illiterate people still fall to such lies. What happens then is that these Illiterate people drag someone to lift another, "Crab Mentality" . They drag down those who are their favored party list's contenders to uplift their own, not knowing they are being controlled like dolls.

Once everything went according to the politician's way and the people he/she deceived successfully gave him/her power through government standing from there onwards it will then become a tragedy. Deceptions, lies and corruption keeps on stacking up, the "promises" that were said during campaign period is now long forgotten amidst the tons and tons of money stolen from the people and then, these Illiterates who voted that person suddenly realized that they messed up, that they were fooled and from Love blossoms the Hate. The Illiterates then attack the politician for being a liar which to me is ironic because I think that no one gets fooled if no one wants to be fooled, if they themselves thinked critically and based their decisions on which candidate made the most ACTIONS not WORDS, then they wouldn't have to reach the point of robbing the power of someone they gave the power to. These situations are common here in the Philippines but with the help of Media and Information Literacy, such happenings could be easily avoided because indeed, prevention is better than cure.

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“The Value of Being a Media and Information Literate Individual”

Before we start to value, first we must start to understand. What defines a Literate Individual? A literate individual is that of a person with vast knowledge and broad understanding of a certain topic in-hand, a mind filled with creativity and originality, and if you add Media and Information to the topic, a person with the qualities of in-depth understanding about how information works, having unbiased opinions and perspectives, having the determination to uncover and determine the truth hidden behind the things that were said/posted, that is only part of the many great characteristics of a Media and Information Literate Individual. Being Illiterate makes a person easily deceived by those with higher understanding than them, being illiterate means you choose to be a blind follower to another person instead of taking up the helm of your ship and setting sail on your own accords. Being Illiterate narrows up your vision and blurs your conception on which is true and which is false, which is ethical and non-ethical, overall being illiterate hinders your growth and understanding in this vast and diverse world we are in.

Why should we value being a Media and Information Literate Individual? We are currently on the "Information Age" an age where almost every information is easily accessed with the help of The Internet. Due to the ease of access, learning became easier, solving tasks and finding answers to help our school works became easier BUT this in turn made people lazier. The brain hardwired itself to automatically reach out to The Internet to find answers without learning/understanding them which leads to great downfall because not all things that are found in the internet are reliable. Being a literate individual, you are avoiding this mistakes, because you know that before you answer, first you must understand. Understand that not everything you see on the internet is correct, understand that The Internet is a great place if used properly but if not may be the cause of a great mistake, understand that being literate is mainly for ourselves not for others and that we must take responsibility on accepting and dejecting the information we intake. To summarize, being literate avoids us from being deceived by sweet lies and deceptions and that being literate sets us up to become a person who are unbiased, disciplined and seekers of truth and justice. Stop being fooled and start taking responsibility for your own life! you are the creator of your destiny! be a Media and Information Literate Individual!