Reviewing Visual Literacy in the Bain d'Images Era is a paper that provides labels and strategies to identify and navigate the increasingly image-saturated environment we all find ourselves in. One key takeaway from the article is the concept of visual literacy, or rather, our ability to analyze, determine, and question messages contained within images without mindlessly engaging the content and letting it pass by.
Image Source: Wall Street Journal
Visual literacy is an increasingly relevant and necessary skill as more humans gain access to the internet and as a direct result, mass-media. Without proper skepticism and image-deconstruction skills, new and old internet users are more susceptible to the nonstop barrage of agendas and messages that infiltrate our feeds every day. The article stresses the importance of establishing a basic level of visual literacy within every online user, which I personally think should be taught in elementary or middle school because there are no true restrictions on the internet for images and kids have a very large online presence.
Image Source: NBC News
I think that a core part of visual literacy is not only understanding what messages we are receiving but also the messages we are sending. I know we have all stared at a text for too long wondering how a certain word will come off or if three paragraphs is a measured response to “K lol”. Every time we log on and interact with media there is a two-way current of messaging, as we receive the authors intended message and then signal approval or disdain to that message through how frequently and the tone in which we engage with it.
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