11/12

Media and
Information
Literacy
Module 1: Opportunities and
Challenges in Media and
Information

Instructor’s Name: Glitz Wyn Victor T. Sobisol

 Opportunities and Challenges in
Media and Information

Media and other information providers play a central role in information and
communication processes. Nowadays, media become the common outlet of self expression and
creativity. Its huge influence spreads speedily across the globe. The connection between
technological advances and people’s connectivity created a huge impact on the lives of today’s
generation. This module covers all the abovementioned concept

What’s In
Media provide us with a variety of information however, harmful online effects are
also rampant. Activities such as pornography, defamation, infringement, bullying,
identity theft, profile manipulation, and all others are some of the harmful acts that can
affect a peaceful living.

Positive and negative impacts are both products of media and information. To

learn more about the topic, let’s look at the activit

Activity 1
Analyze the illustration below and answer the questions that follow.

Image Source: https://www.toonpool.com/cartoons/truth%20and%20media_57496

2
Guide Questions:

1. What is the mese in this cartoon?

2. Is the situation about media depicted in the cartoon true in the Philippines? Why or
why not?

3. Does the cartoon show a challenge or an opportunity for media and information?
Why?

What is It

POWER OF MEDIA TO AFFECT CHANGE

March 2016, TCC Group published an article by Charles Gaspar, entitled “How media
Affects Social Change” which reports the following:
“Media and more importantly its ability to reach the public and provide commentary
has been present ever since the existence of a town crier. The tradition of oration has
evolved to broadsheet, books, radio, television, and now to the digital age.” In April
2016, the World Economic Forum published an article titled 6 ways social media is
changing the world that discussed six observations and predictions for the way social
media is changing the world from experts from the Global Agenda Council.

3
 1. Across industries, social media is going from a “nice to have” to an essential
component of any business strategy.
2. Social media platforms may be the banks of the future.
3. Social media is shaking up healthcare and public health.
4. Social media is changing how we govern and are governed.
5. Social media is helping us better respond to disaster.
6. Social media is helping us tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges, from human
rights violation to climate change.

Another article from TECH MAISH.com by Bilal Ahmad updated in March 2016
published an article titled “10 Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media for
Society” enumerated the following:

Advantages: Disadvantages:

Connectivity Cyberbullying
Educate Hacking
Help Addiction
Information and updates Fraud and Scams
Promotion Security Issues
Noble cause Ruin Reputation
Awareness Cheating and Relationship Issues
Helps Gov’t and agencies fight crime Health Issues
Improves business reputation Social Media causes death
Helps in building communities Glamorizes Drugs and Alcohol

Infringement of human It’s hard to verify the age on the

rights/defamation. Money internet and since anyone can
theft/phishing Commercial access the internet including
fraud, underage. Thus they are easily
Bullying, Copyright exposed to inappropriate
Infringement and identity Lack of Verification contents
theft Because of the new for underage like sexual implicit
media, information and violent contents.
spreads faster than
ever, so fast that “fact
Privacy
checker” can’t keep up.
It seems as though
Also because anyone
privacy is something that
can access the Illegal Content
is very easily broken into
internet, some Some media are used to
when referring to the
information are not distribute
media and its audiences.
reliable. illegal contents: Illegal images of
It is very difficult for
individuals to keep their child sexual abuse, content
information private, promoting hate based on race,
which is why this is such religion or sexual preference,
a important ethical 4 content instructing or promoting
issues. crime, violence, content that
advocates unsafe behaviour like
extreme dieting or drug taking.
Study the illustration below on the opportunities and challenges of media in society.

Image source: https://redly.social/forums/topic/86-media-and-information-opportunities-

andchallenges/

5
In an article of Prezi.com, titled “Opportunities, Challenges and Power of Media” by
Flores, A. (2018) discussed the following.
“The spread of new freedoms and extent of frontiers of freedom that the public authorities
have often attempted to control; religious, freedoms, gender, ethnicity and sexual
freedoms based on social and cultural identities.

OPPORTUNITY. It is a set of situations that makes it possible to do something.

1. Economy
Economic actors need accurate and timely information to allocate resources efficiently,
investors and other groups increasing value and demand a governance monitoring role
from the media. A free and independent press can provide information and monitoring
to the economic policy development process leading to more effective economic policies.
It can also reduce political risk and increase good governance- conditions that are
important for robust economic development.

Media improves the efficiency of the economy by providing actors more and better
information with which make decisions and improving stability.

- Media enhances political coordination in the development of sound economic

policy

- Media sector development can reduce political risk, increasing stability for higher risk
countries.

2. Education
In Sites Using Video
As we know from the recent ubiquity of online digital video, the video has become a
compelling tool for educational representation. students use it in their projects: teachers
and pre-service teachers use it to study pedagogy; and researchers use it for capturing
and examining how learning happens, as they unfold.

3. Social
In today's world, media becomes as essential as our daily needs. Media of today is
playing an outstanding role in creating and shaping of public opinion and strengthening
of society. Media is the sword arm of democracy. Media acts as watchdog to protect
public interest against malpractice and create public awareness.

4. Political
The political landscape has changed quite a bit in the last couple of decades. The
internet has played a large role in this transformation. Social media, in particular, is
now a serious factor in political campaigns and in the way people think about issues.

Candidates and their supporters constantly post their views on Facebook and Twitter.
Each party has its own pages, from which it broadcasts propaganda and requests for
donations. Let’s look at some of the leading ways that social media influences politics
today.

5. News Around the Clock

One of the ways that social media has transformed politics is the sheer speed at which news,
poll results and rumors are shared. Whereas in the pre-internet days, people

6
had to wait for the next newspaper or TV news show to get the latest information, oonline
news has 24/7 phenomenon.

Social media has taken this a step further. While you can access news on many websites
at any hour, most people spend more time on sites such as Facebook and Twitter than
they do on serious news or political websites. This means that you get all of the latest
trending news stories and opinions shared by your friends whenever you log on.

6. The Impact of Polls

Political polls are an important part of every campaign. They are often confusing,
because you can often find multiple polls with contradictory results posted on the very
same day.

As with other types of political news, the internet has greatly increased the number of
poll result as we see each day. Social media has accelerated this even more. Not only do
social media sites report the results of polls, you can actually participate in Facebook
polls.

Polls results have a big influence on elections. This is true even if they are flawed. A poll
can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. For example, if people think one candidate is far ahead in
the race, they might conclude there’s no point in voting for the underdog. When people are
posting the latest poll results on social media throughout the day, there’s a great deal of
pressure on candidates to pull ahead of their opponents.

7. Direct Interaction With Politicians

One of the positive effects that social media has on politics is the opportunity for voters
to interact more easily with candidates and elected officials. Traditionally, if you wanted
to meet a politician or candidate, you’d have to attend a live event. Not everyone is able
to do this. With modern technology, it’s now possible to attend virtual events where you
can participate in live streaming events and interact with politicians and candidates.

8. Demographics and Targeting

Targeting is used throughout the advertising industry to make sure that ads and
messages reach the right audience. Politicians do this as well. In the age of social media,
politicians and people running for office are able to target their campaigns.

If a candidate wants to address the concerns of women, college students, retired people,
Latinos or any other group of voters, they can now tailor their messages. Just as
advertisers on Facebook are able to use analytics and targeted advertising, so can
candidates and politicians. Thus, if you notice that political messages seem to be talking
to you personally, this is no accident.

CHALLENGES
It is something new and difficult which requires great effort and determination. It
includes Illegal Content, Cybercrime, Copyright, Infringement, Identity Theft.

7
1. Illegal Content
It’s ant type of content that could be damaging to young people, including:real or
simulated violence sexually explicit content illegal images of child sexual abuse content
promoting hate based on race, religion or sexual preference content instructing or
promoting crime or violence content promoting violent extremism content that
advocates unsafe behavior like extreme dieting or drug taking the use of a computer as
an instrument to further illegal ends.

2. Cybercrime
Criminal activity or a crime that involves the Internet, a computer system or a computer
technology.

3. Copyright Infringement
It is the use of works protected by copyright law without permission, infringing certain
exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, such as the right to reproduce,
distribute, display or perform the protected work, or to make derivative works.

4. Identity Theft
It is the deliberate use of someone else's identity, usually as a method to gain a financial
advantage or obtain credit and other benefits in the other person's name, and perhaps
to the other person's disadvantage or loss.

POWER
'Media power' means here the concentration of symbolic power in media institutions,
particularly those of television, radio and the press (the common-sense definition of 'the
media'), although the long-term impact of new media on media power is considered.

1. Business Strategy
It’s a trend that is already spreading to businesses beyond the newsroom, whether it be
because of digital marketing or new customer service communication channels.

2. Banks of the Future

Social media is transforming banking relationships in very significant ways, from
improving customer service to allowing users to send money to others via online
platforms. New financial technology companies are using social media to help people
simply open a bank account. Social media can even impact your ability to get a loan.

3. Health Care & Public Health

Social media has been responsible for relevant changes in both personal and community
health, especially by making it easier for large numbers of people to rapidly share
information.

Looking back on the opportunities and power of media presented above, we can
conclude that technology becomes a very powerful in almost all aspect of human living
and society. However, challenges in regards with its use are also lurking in every corner.
With these, responsible use media should always be taken into consideration.

8
Activity 2:
Let’s summarize our lesson by answering the following questions.

1. What are the advantages and disadvantage offered by social media today.

2. Media is changing the world through…

Activity 3:
Make a concept map on the implication of media in the following sectors:

Education

Implication of Media in the society

Politics

Economy
9
10
Activity 4
Complete the sentences below by providing the advantages and disadvantages of
media and information in the given contexts.

1. The internet as a Tourism support

The internet can empower local tourism through (a) .

It can help develop (b) . However, the internet can also pose
issues or problems to local tourism. Some examples of
these problems are
© . In order to maximize the power of the internet to promote
local tourism, we must (d) .

2. Cyber libel

The internet can empower freedom of speech through (a) . It can

have positive developments in (b) . However, the internet can also
pose issues or problems to online speech freedom. Some examples of these problems
are(c) . In order to maximize the power of the internet to improve
online speech freedom, we must(d) .

3. Human Trafficking

The internet can make communications and job applications(a) . It

can help develop (b) . However, the internet can also promote
human trafficking by(c) .In order to fight human trafficking. we
must(d) .

Assessment
Instruction. Read each statement below and identify the opportunities, challenges,
and power of media described in each number. Choose your answer from the pool of
words inside the box.
Economic Media power Social Cyber crime

Business strategy Banks of the future Opportunities

Identity theft Education Health care Illegal content

1. Learners, teachers and researchers make meaning of events

from both individual and multiple points of viewing.

11
 2. Media of today is playing an outstanding role in creating
and shaping of public opinion and strengthening of
society.

3. The deliberate use of someone else's identity, usually as a

method to gain a financial advantage or obtain credit and
other benefits.

4. Transforming banking relationships in very significant ways,

from improving customer service to allowing users to send
money to others via online platforms.

5. Social media has been responsible for relevant changes in both

personal and community health.

6. It’s any type of content that could be damaging to young People.

7. Providing and monitoring information to the economic policy

development process leading to more effective economic policies.

8. Criminal activity or a crime that involves the Internet, a

computer system or a computer technology

9. It’s a trend that is already spreading to businesses beyond the

newsroom.

10. Means here the concentration of symbolic power in media

institutions, particularly those of television, radio and the press.

Performance Task
Make a short vlog about “The Power of Media and Information, and the Responsibility of
the Users.” Submit your video in our GC.

N.B.

Write your answers on the answer sheet provided ONLY.

Do not use another sheet of paper for your answer. If you
did not receive an answer sheet, please notify your subject
teacher.

Keep this module and submit your answer sheet ONLY.

Thank You!

12
References:

Ahmad, B. (2016). TECHMAISH.com. 10 Advantages and Disadvantages of

Social Media for Society. Retrieved from
https://www.techmaish.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-socialmediafor-
society/
Commission on higher Education, 2016. Teaching Guide for Senior High
School MEDIA AND INFORMATION LITERACY CORE SUBJECT.
Guzman, A. (2016). World Economic Forum. 6 Ways Social Media is Changing
the World. Retrieved from
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/04/6-ways-social-mediaischanging-
the-world/ http://unesco.mil-forteachers.
unaoc.org/modules/module-7/unit-2/
Media and Information Literacy Curriculum Guide by DepEd
Flores, A. (2018). Opportunities, Challenges and Power of Media. Retrieved
from https://prezi.com/p/5h35qdwoa2iq/opportunities-challengesandpower-
of-media-and-information/
Ping, A. (2017). Opportunities and Challenges in Media and Information
[PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from
https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/arnielping/8-media-and-information
literacy-mil-opportunities-challenges-and-power-of-media-and-information

13