 We're spending a few minutes in these videos talking about listening in particular contexts. So for this video, we're going to talk about listening and the media. How do we effectively listen when it comes to media? And really when we talk about listening and media, we need to talk first about media literacy. So let's define what we mean by media literacy. Well, at the 1992 Aspen Media Leadership Institute, they developed this kind of definition of media literacy that said this. Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media in a variety of forms. Simple as that. Right? So that's how we become media literate by learning how to access media, by learning how to analyze media. And that's a key one, learning how to evaluate media effectively. And then also we recognize that we are all really media creators at this stage as well. So when we talk about media literacy, that's where we're coming down on it. So why would it be important that we be media literate in our day and age? Well, first of all, it's important because freedom is fragile. As Americans, if you live in the United States, if you live in another democratic nation, we know that freedom is fragile and media plays a big part of that. Our access to the media, how we handle the media. So we need to be aware of the media, be critical of that media. Not critical in the sense of being negative about the media, but being critical in terms of how we analyze and review that media and how we allow it to shape our thoughts and opinions because freedom is fragile. So it's important that we be media literate so that we can be the best citizens we can in democratic society. Secondly, it's because you are responsible for you. People put out all this media, people put out music, movies, TV shows, all these different media, YouTube videos and things like that. But in the end, you are responsible for you. You have to decide, first of all, what's going into your brain and into your body as media consumers, but also, how do we take that? How do we relate to that? How do we shape our thoughts and opinions based on that? You are responsible for you. Those people are responsible for what they put out. You're responsible for A, whether you watch it, B, how do you evaluate it critically or not, and then C, what do you do as a result of that? You are responsible for you. We also need to be media literate because knowledge is power. We have access to just basically the entire wealth of human knowledge throughout existence of humankind on Earth, basically in our phones now, right? So we have access to all this knowledge and that knowledge is power. So we have a responsibility to, first of all, recognize that and then secondly, use it responsibly. So we need to be media literate so that we can effectively harness and productively use that knowledge. We also need to be media literate so that we can enhance our critical thinking skills, and that's just true in life in general. We need to develop effective, critical listening and critical thinking skills and being media literate can contribute to that. And then we need to be media literate so that we can create media more responsibly. At this stage, we are all essentially media creators. We create content for our social media pages. We create content for YouTube. We create content all over the place. We are media creators and it has never been easier. You have the best Hollywood camera equipment in your pocket, basically, in your phone. And so we have the ability to create media more easily and more effectively than we ever have in any point in human history. And so we need to do so responsibly then and be media literate in terms of how we do that. So one of the most important things is that we become a critical consumer of media. Again, this is not critical in terms of where we're taking shots at the media or we're talking about how bad it is or good it is or whatever, that we are not just accepting it and letting it wash over us. That's what we're really talking about here, that we view the media as something to be evaluated and assessed and looked at through a critical lens. So we need to, first of all, start from a critical standpoint. We need to understand that not all media is just there to wash over us. And we shouldn't let any media just wash over us and accept it as fact and accept it as truth and whatever. So we ought to be examining it, analyzing it, assessing it. All of these things are part of establishing that critical standpoint and that's where we ought to start from. Not come to it later, but we ought to have that in mind as we encounter all forms of media at the beginning. We also need to know the purpose of the media. What was the purpose of the person writing that song? Was their intention just to be famous? Was their intention to send a message? Was their intention to get back at somebody? Was their intention to forward some progressive idea? Or to enhance humankind in some way? What was the purpose of that song? What was the purpose of that movie? What was the purpose of that TV show? So we need to understand what's the purpose here. And I'm starting principally with the idea that the media is there to make money. That's the whole idea. It's a business, OK? It is. And that's not a criticism. That's not a shame on them or anything like that. That's just what it is, for the most part. Media is there to make money. So we start from there and then we can dissect them from that. What was the further intent of this media? We also need to ask ourselves the question, Queer's custodian, Ipsos custodis. Meaning, this is a Latin meaning, who watches the watchers? Who watches the watchers? The media are gatekeepers. They decide they don't necessarily tell us what to think, but they tell us what to think about. What is it that's being put in front of us? Well, who's making those decisions? It's our responsibility to pay attention to who's making those decisions. Who are the gatekeepers and what are they keeping from us? We have to watch the watchman, right? Who watches the watchman? We need to understand garbage in, garbage out. That if we put all this trash in our body, for example, as eaters, if we put in all this junk food and sugary soda and that kind of stuff into our bodies, which I love, by the way, but when we put that kind of garbage in, we're going to get garbage out. We're not going to have the energy we need. The body's not getting the nutrients that it needs and so forth, and it's affecting our health in a negative way. The same is true for media. When we pump our minds full of this meaningless media and trash media, again, whether it's music, whether it's TV shows, movies, whatever it is, whether it's news, these news networks, when we pump it full of garbage like that, then that's what we're going to get out of it. We're going to feel worse. We're going to be less informed. We're not going to be able to protect our freedom as well. And so when we put garbage in, we have garbage come out. On the other hand, when we put good stuff in, when we're taking it apart and that good stuff, then that's what we're going to get out of it. So we need to keep that in mind. What we put in is what we're going to get out. We also need to be able to put things in context, put this media in context. What does it mean? Where did it come from? Is it part of a particular time when we're watching a movie? We need to remember if that movie came out in the 80s or 90s, it may have a different feel, a different message, it comes from a different place than it would if it came out today. It may not be the appropriate message or the message that we would want for it to have today. But we need to put it in context. When did that song come out? What was it about? Where was that person at in their life? So we put all these things in context and not just see them as a universal thing that is true and it's good throughout all time, but we need to put all media in context, in place and time and individual and who am I and who are they and who am I at that time and who am I in the future and so forth. Put everything into context as best as possible. So we just need to develop these media literacy skills to be more effective as listeners when it comes to the media. It's really important that we become more critical consumers of the media. So I hope this has been helpful for you in understanding our listening responsibilities as it relates to media.