8 How To: Some strategies to help each other make sense of this

When I started working on this project, I knew there had to be a “how to” conversation included.  Media Literacy is often a catchphrase to encompass different teaching strategies to be brought into mostly K-12 curriculum.  School districts, state boards of education, state and federal governments, advocacy groups, teachers, researchers – everyone has their own definition of what ML is.  We talked a little about it up top.  Personally, I wish I had had the opportunity to teach every person in the US about these ideas.  The reality is that this book is probably the best I can do.  So, with that, let’s talk “how-to’s.”

The biggest takeaway I have from this project is just how much we surround ourselves with and internalize all of these messages all of the time.  Realistically, we do not need to.  We think we do (leading to the “FOMO” phenomenon that seems to fuel all that is ‘social media’), but we don’t.  SO … stop.  Sounds way too easy – and it was meant to.   How do we stop?

Some ideas (or “The Strategies”)

• 1) You have already started. The first step in the process is just starting to think about it, which has now happened.  You decided to move through this collection of my ideas.  First, thank you for that.  I appreciate you taking the time to hang out here.  Second, by reading through these ideas, your media literacy has (hopefully) been developed just that much further.  As we actively consider our relationship with the media around us, we will simply start to think about it more.  That more is never a bad thing … unless, of course, you let it overwhelm you.  Stay cognizant of this fact.  It is incredibly easy to fall down “rabbit holes” when thinking about what is surrounding us.  You have seen it happen in your social media feeds, around the Thanksgiving table (yep – I have unfortunately been on the wrong side of that), and even when you just want to grab coffee or a drink with a friend.  Just remember that the idea is to be aware, not blinded by it.  How, you might ask, do you do that?  I have some suggestions (see below) …
• 2) Use what the tech provides – all mobile devices now have some sort of “well being” component included. Each operating system (iOS, Android, etc.) has one.  It is meant to track how much time you spend surfing apps on your device (social media, news feeds, streaming services, etc.) and report it back to you.  You can also set up said components to limit your time on each of your apps.  Facebook, Snapchat, Parlr.  Video games.    Netflix.  You can tell your device to only allow a certain amount of app time per day for you, thereby having something else govern how much media you are taking in via your devices.

Another strategy I took on a while back is limiting what I will get notifications for on my mobile devices … including that pesky watch.  I have notifications for one or two of my social media turned on, but not all of them.  None of them make any noise – just a small icon in my notification bar.  After 10 pm, the only notifications that come through are from those individuals that I have designated as “favorite” or important (parents, spouse, close friends).  Nothing else will even turn my screen on.  Again, use the device to your advantage rather than letting it run wild over you.  Now … this might be complicated if you use a smart watch, but the same rule can apply.  Use the tech to control the flow of information.

So, if you use the tech to opt out of notifications, sounds, vibrations, etc., you can start to own your media space rather than letting it own you.

• 3) Purging your FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) – This is going to be a tough one. Our devices have become ubiquitous in our lives (I may have landed that almost too hard during this discussion … sorry about that).  Alarm clocks, email, games, movies … and, yes, even phone calls (but who really talks on the phone any more).  All of them are now handled by one device – our little “black mirrors.”  All of this information comes at you at all times … during all hours of the day.  Because of this constant barrage of images and notifications, the very real FOMO phenomenon has become part of our lives.  Has it always existed?    If you found out that friends of yours were hanging out and you were not invited, I am guessing FOMO kicked in.  With images continually running through our feeds and stories becoming how you learn about your friends’ lives, FOMO becomes amplified through repeated exposure.  It is entirely possible that the previous “how to” may already be helping with this, but this becomes our biggest challenge.  Keep in mind that (and this is what I remind myself of when the FOMO with either tech or events or information starts to get to me):
  1. a) For decades, IF you had an answering machine, you could not check it until you go home from wherever you were. You were fine.
  2. b) Text messaging did not start until 1992. It was not sent via phone – it was sent via messaging service to pagers.  Yep – pagers.  The few that had cell phones in those pockets (not the giant Motorola StarTacs … think Nokia 5110.  Yes, I had both) could send text messages (with the Nokia, not the original Motorolas) using T9.  You may remember it.  You may remember hating it.  Texting was not easy and it was annoying … until we moved into the age of the smartphone.  When it was before it was something, guess what: you were fine.
  3. c) Use the tech monitoring apps built into your phones to tell you how often you are checking it. Just track it for a bit.  Ask yourself if you “need” or “want” to know that much and that often.  Remember – chances are, you will be fine.
  4. d) There is a game that made the circuit a few years ago that looks like this: if you are with your friends at the bar, restaurant, coffee shop, or what have you, have everyone put their devices in the middle of the table then continue the conversation. The rules are very easy – the first person to grab their device rather than being part of the conversation buys the next round. I am wondering if gamifying this break is how it can be done.  Might a version of this work for kids?    Could it work for business meetings (that are not on Zoom, of course)?  I think it is possible.  It would irritate some to no end, but devices are just so convenient to tune out in a socially-acceptable way.  As much as we might say  that it is not acceptable, we know it is or at least has become such.  Find ways to strategically and overtly disconnect, even for a little while.  Again – it’s all about being media literate, which includes being aware of our own passive consumption.  Again – we all will be fine.
• 4) The Media Journal – I mentioned this at the beginning of our conversation. The idea is to track everything that you are coming into contact with, actively or passively.  Track it, just like you would if your doctor asked you to run a food or sleep diary.  Do it for a day, for a week, or even longer.  Just do it accurately and consistently.  Rather than a written journal, try a spreadsheet or pad of paper sideways.  Across the top, list the days.  Down the side, list the hours.  Make each cell flexible enough to fit it all in there.  An important point to remember – you are often using more than one device or have more than one stream going at the same time.  Make sure you are tracking the overlap.  You will want to record the following:
  1. a) Type (music, TV, print ad, billboard, etc.)
  2. b) If relevant – genre, artist, title, etc.
  3. c) Start time
  4. d) End time
  5. e) How long
  6. f) Any notes you want to include (passive or active, did you like it, choose it, whatever seems important)

Once you have all of that information for each hour of the day/week/month, review it. Look for patterns.  Look for surprises.  The idea here is to learn about yourself as much as you can.

Where you become part of the book

            Ok, so we have talked about some strategies here, but I am sure there are hundreds more that will help us become more literate and aware of our own media usage and creation.  If you can think of any – send them my way.  My goal here is not to provide all of the answers.  Instead, it’s to get the conversation started.  As you come up with things, let me know.  I will turn around and expand on this chapter.  I cannot guarantee it will show up right away – but it will show up.  Alternately (of COURSE this would be the case), there are several places where you can also post ideas, either in groups or via hashtags.  If you want to post ideas, ask questions, get into conversations, etc., here is where to find anyone else who is thinking about these ideas as well:

            Facebook:       “An Everyday Media User’s Survival Guide” (https://www.facebook.com/groups/543874217169684)

            Twitter:           Put the #AnEverydayMediaSurvivalGuide hashtag in your post so others can find it.

            On the web:    Go to http:// (insert link here)

My thought is that if we get enough people to be thinking about not just what the media is but how and why, then perhaps we will recognize it, warts and all.

So … that’s it?

            By now, I am truly hoping that you are sick of me talking about the same thing from different angles throughout this book.  I hope that you are saying to yourself “YES!!  I GET IT, ALREADY!!”  If you are at that point, then I have done my job, and I can stop tilting at windmills.  You have learned everything!  You’re ready!  Congratulations. My work here is done …

…

… Just kidding.  The work is never done.  Literacy does not come from a one shot and you are “literate” approach.  It is a practice.  Go back to when we talked about learning a language.  I took three years of Russian in high school.  Was never proficient but could painfully work my way through a conversation.  Now?  Nothing.  I can make the noises I read on the screen and I might recognize those noises as words, but that is about it.  An athlete has to continually practice their skills to get better and be able to perform those skills.  The same holds true here.  Whatever strategies you have developed, thought about, or even stumbled across need to be actively engaged.  If you are working on yourself, figure out what helps you keep those skills active.  If working with others (kids, parents, anyone), make a game or conversation out of it.  Who can spot what?  How many do you count?  What do you learn about the people who made the ad?  What do you learn about the people the ad was made for?  How ridiculous is it … really?  Anything you can do to keep the skills active and away from slipping into the back of your mind, the better.  Like I said above, if you come up with any strategies that worked for you and yours, let us know.

            Media literacy is a skill set.  We live in a space where passive acceptance is not a good thing.  “The Media” is not bad (we can get into the conversation of corporatized messaging for profit at the expense of the common good another time) and it is not good.  It exists as it does because it has been developed into a commercial product.  Our job as the consumers and creators of media is to keep our skills up – our skills at interpreting what we are consuming and our skills at deciding what content we put out there.

            It is so easy to just say “the media is bad”, sit back, and feel good about ourselves … then follow that by scrolling our feed or watching something on the nearest screen.  If it is so bad, then why are we still using it as often as we are?  By looking at what our media system is made up of (content, creators, and companies), we can get past that easy knee-jerk reaction towards the bigger and more difficult question: why is it “bad”?  Is it “bad”?  Is it anything other than what we have let it become?  Do I have the answers to these questions?  Absolutely not.  It’s our job as active media consumers and creators to consider these questions as a way to develop our understanding of what “the media” is to and for us.  That is what media literacy is all about.

            To quote TRON one more time – “End of Line.”