Author: Nate Noorlander

Media Literacy Challenge #10: “Fact-checking the mailman”

If your only move after hearing a claim is to look into the source of that claim, you might be guilty of a version of this absurd scenario: you’re fact-checking the mailman, not the person making the claims the mailman is merely delivering. You’re fact-checking the information distributor, not the information manufacturer.

Media Literacy Challenge #9: Polarization

Polarization in the United States seems obvious—but what explains it, and is it as bad as we think? Perhaps understanding some of the mechanisms behind (1) polarization and (2) the perception of polarization can help us engage with today’s media in an informed and productive way.

Media Literacy Challenge #8: Journalism vs. advocacy

When reading articles online, always ask: Is this outlet trying harder to inform the audience or promote a point of view? In the following example, most of the evidence supports “promote a point of view…”

Media Literacy Challenge #7: The Quiet Majority

If you use social media, this one’s a must: check out The Noisy Room, an interactive essay on the quiet social media majority from Tobias Rose-Stockwell, an author whose book, The Outrage Machine—How Tech Amplifies Discontent, Disrupts Democracy―And What We Can Do About It, is featured multiple times in our course on Media Literacy.

Media Literacy Challenge #6: “Attention budget”

Note the expression, pay attention. You should take this pretty literally. The cost of taking in new information is the attention you have to pay to process that information.
Like paying three dollars for a caffeinated drink, you’re paying three seconds or three minutes or three hours for some bit of information. So the question you have to ask yourself is this: Is it worth it? Since attention is finite—the class will end, the day will end, the year will end, even life will end—is the thing you’re paying attention to worth the time you’re giving it?