The War On Knowledge: Being A Social Media Literate

Abstract

With the widespread use of social media environments, the information pollution experienced at the global level has increased dramatically. The most important feature of these environments, which have user groups from different ages, professions, income and education groups, is that they allow users to produce content. At this point, a number of problems arise. The fact that all account owners produce content freely and unlimitedly, regardless of their age and educational levels, creates information confusion. The absence of any control mechanism as to who shares true or false information also requires individual responsibilities. Among these responsibilities of individuals, the awareness of being a media literate comes first. In addition, being citizens with high social sensitivity is an important part of this process. Having the ability to correctly read and interpret social media environments is as important as understanding and interpreting traditional media correctly. This is an educational process. This education will be possible with the initiatives of relevant institutions, especially schools. The main purpose of this study is to draw attention to the sensitivity of evaluating the information in social media environments and adding individual information to these environments.