Media literacy is a repertoire of competencies that enable people to analyze, evaluate, and create messages in a wide variety of media modes, genres, and formats.
The influence of the media should not be underestimated. By mid-adolescence, teens have watched many thousands of hours of television—more time than they spend with teachers in school. Add to that figure the hours devoted to surfing the Internet, playing video games, watching videos and DVDs, listening to the radio, and attending movies, and the media’s effect becomes clear.