The Fiji Media Watch has cautioned parents in Fiji to be very vigilant with children in as far media literacy is concerned.
Researcher Ms Fulori Turaga told participants at a Fiji Media Watch organized workshop that parents needed to have critical thinking skills necessary to understand, interpret and evaluate information in order to make informed choices.
The workshop was attended by fifty participants including youths and women from Rewa, Tailevu and Serua.
“We must teach our children thinking and viewing skills so they can interpret and make informed choices with what comes out of the media,” she said.
“We should be able to tell which story published is of value or truthful in nature and would be beneficial to us.
Ms Turaga said parents should not take everything they hear on the radio or watch on television or even the internet as absolute truth.
“We should be able to identify the hidden messages a particular news story or advertisement is trying to tell us and make informed choices,”Ms Turaga said.
Ms Turaga said biased reporting lowered human respect and dignity.
“People should be free from media manipulation and domination and this can only happen when if consumers could see through hidden agendas or hidden messages put to them from the various media,” she said.
Ms Turaga commended on the Minister of Educations advocation of the importance of media education to the people of Fiji.
“He knows that the issue is a critical one and I really commended him for frequently reminding us of the issue,” she said.
Ms Turaga said the key concepts in media education are: developing critical awareness, learning the language of the media, becoming media literate and be able to read and interpret the meaning behind certain messages and images.
Ms Fulori Turaga of Fiji Media Watch
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