Media literacy with a purpose
Elisa Wells, Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of Randall King
Eras come and go, but in every generation, there is a mother that tells her children, “Turn it off!” This was the inspiration for Randall King, professor of communication and associate dean in the Bomar School of Communication.
King began a substack newsletter named, “Turn it Off!” where he provides followers a guide for better media literacy. Media literacy is not just an academic concept but a life skill. At its core, media literacy is not just about spotting fake news or sticking it to corporate media but thinking critically and recognizing how messages are shaped.
“You learn to read and you can recognize what words mean and you can recognize patterns, et cetera, et cetera. But as you grow and you live some life and you get more education, now you can read, and you’re looking for big picture stuff,” said King.
King has been teaching the course Media Literacy for over 25 years in several Christian institutions where his aim is not to teach students what to think about media, but how to think about media. Media literacy opens the door for people to enjoy movies, games, or social media with a purpose because you are able to watch it through different lens and understand what is going on.
“This class is bigger than me, the concepts of media literacy are bigger than me, the concepts of media literacy for Christians are certainly bigger than this classroom at this Christian college,” said King.
For Christians, media literacy introduces another layer of meaning: engaging in cultured while remaining grounded in faith. Faith becomes a lens through which messages are interpreted.
Meg George, senior strategic communication major, said, “In the world that we live in, there’s so much distraction. There’s so much noise, and it’s not about canceling out the noise, it’s about acknowledging it, and knowing where to go from there, because I think that it can be really overwhelming when there’s so many voices, so many things to, like, take our attention, acknowledging, okay, this is something that could take my attention, is it worth, the time?”
Healthy media literacy does not require a no-media diet, instead it involves engaging intentionally. Below is a list of starting habits to better your media literacy:
- Set limits on all social media, let’s say this far and no more. This allows for intentionality when choosing the time to consume.
- Be informed before you watch. This prevents you from watching movie, tv shows, or scrolling social media in an automatic state.
“Always bring your brain. God gave it to you for a reason. So have fun, enjoy it. But don’t leave your brain at the door of the movie theater. That’s, it’s, it’s that simple and it’s that hard,” said King.
Link to substack: Turnitoffnow.substack.com
