Nowadays, literacy is not only the capacity to speak, write and read, but it has to include also items like media, as Media Literacy has become an important skill to possess. It is “ the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media in a variety of forms” like radio, television, newspapers, and magazines. Now there is also Social Media, and being literate in that new form of communication is vital as well.
But the Internet also has a dark side through the cyberbullying, digital cheating, safety or security problems.
That's why digital literacy is an important part of media literacy. For example, children’s digital lives don't stop at the school doors, but continue at home, so parents are bound to integrate this new skill in their “skills kit” in order to efficiently accompany and protect their kids as they navigate the internet. There have to know the dangers of using the internet and learn digital tools.
Another main issues of the Internet is the fake news plight. A definition of fake news from PolitiFact says: "Fake news is made-up stuff, masterfully manipulated to look like credible journalistic reports that are easily spread online to large audiences willing to believe the fictions and spread the word."
The main topics of fake news are : politics, financial and social.
It's important to understand what is the root cause of this phenomenon. Why people share fake news? There is a real business behind simple fake news. People’s trust and naivete are targeted and because of the lack of literacy in this field, they give importance to misleading titles, to false content and create a ripple effect by sharing them.
On the positive side, social media and the internet have a lot to offer. They bring positive things like open-mindedness, information sharing. Thanks to the internet, a new way of learning was created, for the open access to a lot of content triggers the will to search, know more and thus become informed and aware citizens.
It is impossible to list all the benefits here, but one great is the Social Media, a good way to chill during free time. Through funny pictures, hilarious tweet… We can thank the internet for the number of time it has saved us from a boring day!