The Japanese government should incorporate media literacy into the education curriculum.
Although media literacy has a lot of meanings, it generally means the skill of evaluating information and receiving it critically. In other words, it is the ability to not believe in all of what you see or hear.
In a society dependent on technology, people obviously spend more time using media such as Internet or TV. In fact, it is convenient to be able to get all these information immediately; however, it can get dangerous. One example is Yahoo Answers. Even if you think an answer looks like an expert’s opinion, it’s also possible that the person who answered your questions is just an amateur. The same holds true for Google research. Do you think the information which gets voted best answer is really accurate?
Not only the Internet but also mass media, like TV or news paper, can tell lies. The Gulf War, which started since 1991 and resulted in heavy losses, was caused by the media’s lie. A girl named Nayirah told a tragedy in Kuwait with tears in her eyes, and George. H. W. Bush quoted this in his speeches many times. This increased the percentage of supporters of war in the US from about 20% to about 80%, and then the war began. However, it later became apparent that the story was fictional.
Luck of concern about selection shows that more and more Japanese are not thinking with their heads anymore. However, it would be too late if we gave in to media’s opinion now and a war started.
Is it really correct information? Who spreads it and for what reason? Who gains a profit? It will be more essential for us to judge information from these points of view. Actually, media literacy is embedded into educational curriculums in the UK, Canada and certain states in US, and they encourage elementary school students to have such viewpoints. I believe Japanese government should commence it immediately.
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