Assoc. Prof. Gül Esra Atalay: "There is an epidemic of misleading and unreliable information"

Explaining that one of the most important functions of digital literacy is to raise awareness of individuals about where and from which source they can access the right information, Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication Department of Journalism Lecturer. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gül Esra Atalay stated that there is an epidemic of misleading and unreliable information in the society due to the intensive use of social media channels, and that there are a number of principles that users should have to be protected from this epidemic or to get rid of it with the least damage. Assoc. Prof. Atalay said: "The expertise of the person or people who created the content and the reliability of the platform where the source is published should be questioned. Again, the evidence, visuals and citations presented in the source should be checked from different sources and critically filtered. Verification from multiple sources is extremely important to avoid exposure to misleading or inaccurate information."

Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication Journalism Department Head Assoc. Prof. Gül Esra Atalay pointed out the importance of digital literacy and explained that with the rapid development of technology, access to information has started to be provided largely through digital technologies and many areas of our lives have become directly related to digital technologies.

Digital literacy increases awareness of security and privacy on digital platforms

Assoc. Prof. Atalay stated that "Digital literacy is of vital importance for individuals today" and explained that digital literacy can be defined as the ability to obtain information from various digital sources, to critically evaluate this information, to communicate effectively with digital technologies and to use technological tools effectively.

Assoc. Prof. Atalay continued her remarks as follows: "Thanks to these skills, individuals can access a wide range of information quickly over the Internet. However, there is also a risk of encountering misleading or low-quality information within this abundance of information. Digital literacy skills are very important at this point because it equips individuals with the skills to definite such information and evaluate it from a critical perspective. Digital literacy increases awareness of security and privacy on digital platforms. When individuals receive digital literacy training, they are more aware of protecting their personal information, recognizing online threats, and taking digital security measures."

Verification from multiple sources prevents exposure to inaccurate information

Assoc. Prof. Atalay informed on the functions of digital literacy and noted that there is a lot of content in the digital world; however, not all of these contents contain accurate and useful information, and continued her remarks as follows: "One of the most important functions of digital literacy is to raise awareness of individuals about where and from which source they can access the right information. Before evaluating the accuracy and reliability of any source, it is necessary to examine the source with a critical perspective. The expertise of the person or people who created the content in question and the reliability of the platform on which the source is published should be questioned. Again, the evidence, visuals and citations presented in the source should be checked from different sources and critically filtered. Verification from multiple sources is critical to avoid exposure to misleading or inaccurate information. It is imperative to be much more skeptical of the content encountered on social media channels."

Content is published almost unsupervised on social media platforms

"Sharing and copying interesting content without verification and critical filtering serves to spread misinformation and disinformation because social media platforms are channels that are based on user-generated content and where anyone can easily open an account and publish the content they want almost unsupervised. The auditing and editing processes in traditional media such as newspapers or television are not available on social media. In this respect, digital literacy skills are essential to use social media efficiently and without harm."

Heavy use of social media channels has led to an epidemic of unreliable information

Explaining that digital literacy and media literacy cross in the concept of digital media literacy, Assoc. Prof. Atalay said:

"We can say that the concept of media literacy is considered from a broad perspective, including mastering the use and consumption of digital media technologies today. We know that with the intensive use of social media channels, there is an epidemic of misleading and unreliable information in the society. There are a number of principles that we, as users, must have in order to be protected from this epidemic or to get rid of it with the least damage. We should be skeptical of any interesting, surprising and fearful information we receive from digital media. Critical thinking is extremely important. It is absolutely necessary to verify the content that we consider important and that will affect our thoughts, behaviors and lives from more than one source. Especially, we should double-check this type of content before re-posting it."

Digital literacy skills are essential for social media use

Emphasizing the importance of digital literacy and knowing how to create content on digital platforms, Assoc. Prof. Atalay stated that individuals who have mastered the courtesy rules of the digital world communicate more effectively on digital platforms, and that it should not be forgotten that a negative image may be drawn and relationships may be damaged by this if certain rules of courtesy and behavior are not followed in social relations established through digital media.

Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication Journalism Department Head Assoc. Prof. Gül Esra Atalay concluded her remarks as follows: "Digital literacy skills are quite necessary for the use of social media. Especially, it is necessary to know the nature of these platforms well in order to identify accurate and valuable content, and also keep in mind that not every information encountered here may reflect the truth, and that the statements that seem to be made by a well-known, famous or important figure may be caused by a fake account. As we witnessed on social media during the earthquake disaster centered in Kahramanmaraş this year, the posts that were shared as statements made by important and serious institutions put people in difficult situations and caused the aid efforts to be misdirected and delayed. Therefore, to repeat once again, it is necessary to be skeptical and to check the accuracy of the source and whether the images in the post are related to the subject, region, or people in question when it comes to social media."

 

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)