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What is social media? Merriam Webster defined it as “ forms of electronic communication (such as websites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as videos). Furthermore, Media Center IMAC (June 1, 2014) agreed, as stated in the article Social Media-A Boon or A Curse for Society that “modern world social media is define in a terms of mobile and web based technologies to create a social network in a virtual world through a collection of online communication channels”. Here are examples of social medias:

Blogs and Microblogs (i.e. Twitter)

Social news networking sites (i.e. Digg and Leakernet)

Content communities (i.e. Youtube)

Social networking sites (i.e. Facebook)

Collaborative projects (i.e. wikipedia)

Undeniably, social media has a great impact in our lives these days. It helps us connect with our love ones across the globe. However, teens nowadays are gigantically affected by it and for without it, life is too boring for them. Unknown to them, “is it’s harmful effect to their brains and even their personal relationships”, confirmed by Dr. Gordon Billi in his article Social Media Is Harmful to Your Brain and Relationships (Oct 20, 2017). It is globally growing and becomes an addiction which is uncontrollable. Now becoming deadly! This claim is attested by National Institute of Health, (November 2012), which mentioned that “ Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) ruins lives by causing neurological complications, psychological disturbances, and social problems”. Not so sure if a study for social media addiction has been conducted in the Philippines. Our government must create a department to conduct such study as Filipinos are extremely addicted to social media. This is obviously a bane.

For me, a media literate person is engaging in a digital society that one needs to understand, analyze, think critically and communicate. If a media literate person it able to analyze and evaluate that certain information that they encounter each day, they are less likely to be negatively influenced by those message that they receive. To be a media literate person you able to think critical, you think beyond in that certain information you are not just stock by the information that are said by others but you are evaluating the information that are given. In that case you able to know the information in your own perception and able to build a new idea.

Media is very useful specially for those person who are studying and working. It is beneficial because we can get informations through the help of media somehow we need to be careful in getting those informations because some of them are not true. Nowadays teenagers often use facebook, messenger, instagram and twitter this social media are the ways on how we can communicate other people. Social media helps teen stay connected to each other even if they are thousand miles away, and it always keeps us updated. Social networks have provided people with the opportunity to connect with others and build better relationships, with the use of social media it allowed people to stay in touch with family, friends and others. Without media it is hard for us to get information and communicate others and as users we have to be wise in using these social medias.

For me, The perfect charactereristic of a Media Literate Person is the one who is objective. Because when we say objective we are basing on facts not on feelings or opinions and also a media literate person is the one who thinks in logical and critical way because when we think in that in that way we are ensuring that we are not that easily got influence by bane media or a false report.

Media literate person also has the ability to analyse, evaluate, and create media. Also they are able to understand the complex of messages we recieve from television, radio, internet, and etc... and other forms of media.

DHARYL JAMES L. WANIWAN