The importance of media literacy in the digital era / Nurul Nisha Mohd Shah and Mohd Radzman Basinon

In this fast-paced digital era, information and news can be easily disseminated. Dependence on social media is also increasing for obtaining news, information about issues or matters, communication and interaction, and much more. According to statistics released by Data Reportal, the number of social media users in Malaysia until January 2023 is estimated at 26.8 million. This situation clearly indicates that social media has a significant influence on contemporary society and serves as the main reference for daily life. To prevent negative outcomes, social media users must have the ability to critically analyze, evaluate, and understand all acquired media content. This is where media literacy takes responsibility for educating the public, especially social media users, to navigate the digital landscape responsibly and exhibit a professional attitude. Media literacy and information overload According to Livingstone (2003), media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate in various forms of media. Therefore, in general, media literacy can be summarized as the ability to understand, interpret, and critically assess various forms of media content, including news articles, videos, images, advertisements, and live broadcasts or streaming on social media. Thus, for an individual to possess media literacy, they must be capable of creating media content, conveying messages, distinguishing between facts and opinions, and identifying inaccurate information and propaganda. In the current digital era, people worldwide seem to be immersed in a sea of information. The constant flow of information from various sources creates a significant challenge in differentiating accurate and reliable information from false ones.