The Need for Media Literacy Amongst Older Generations
With the widespread permeation of fake news in the 21st century, the ability to scrutinize information has become vital to safeguard oneself and others from falling victim to propaganda and hoaxes irrespective of age or experience. Being able to distinctly identify various channels of dissemination and to comprehend relayed information in a contextualised manner is at the heart of such critical engagement. Possessing this knowledge and using it to understand information as well as the reason behind its broadcast is broadly termed as media literacy.
Accordingly, while having this competency has arguably become a life skill for all, rapid advances in technology coupled with the phasing out of traditional mediums of information dissemination has made it particularly challenging for older generations to stay well-versed with the various channels through which information is made available. Necessitated by the demands of progress, transitioning from physical media to digital media or from one type of digital media to another, requires access to new technologies, a working knowledge of current technologies and infrastructural support in addition to undertaking the labour to learn. Making this transition is easier for working professionals and students where it is incentivized by the benefit of a larger client base, improved efficiency, quickly relaying information or gaining access to a large pool of information and in settings such as officers or educational institutions where technology is readily available. Unfortunately, rarely do persons from older generations find themselves in circumstances where such resources are available to them. Even where this is the case, the co-option of traditionally trustworthy sources of information, novel electronic marketing tricks and the sheer amount of information overflow make discerning the credibility of messages almost insurmountable to a newbie.
It is clear that even though everyone is grappling with the issue of distinguishing truth from falsity in modern times, persons from older generations are considerably behind the curve. The difference comes down to the extent of sophistication in the use of media or media literacy. The importance of media literacy amongst older generations lies in the fact that much like other age groups, older generations too shop online, participate in Whatsapp messaging chains, make posts on social media and browse the internet. In short, they too participate in exchange of information and amount to a significant enough presence online that content especially catering to them as an audience in mind is produced and broadcasted. Being media literate would make their experience of engaging with different types of media easier, complete and comprehensible. Further, Being media literate will increase their competency to use various channels of information communication, allowing them to actively use the tools at hand to seek more information than passively received partasian accounts. In relational societies like India, this is particularly valuable as older generations play a significant role in the orientation in which families are organised. Considering the information we receive influences our political beliefs and personal philosophies, the ability to verify facts and have access to alternate sources of information has a direct impact on our behaviour and pre-dispositions.
In other words, being media literate facilitates greater individual autonomy through enabling individuals to reduce information asymmetry and establish informational points of reference by which to interact with others and utilise different types of media. Further, where the lives of people from different generations is invariably tied together, critical engagement with information becomes necessary to ensure prudent decisions are made as they have the potential to affect not just one person but even a whole family or community.
