PR Campaign on Digital Literacy

Report of PR Campaign on Digital Literacy In today’s mediated society, it is always essential that webecome active users of media rather than its passive and docile consumers. What itdemands is a more conscious engagement with media and the information that wereceive from various sources. The importance of media literacy has even becomemore relevant in the age of new and convergent media which have brought somepowerful changes in the ways people access and disseminate information acrossvarious media platforms. Moreover, the increasing misuse of the creative potentials ofthe digital media has already spelled many disasters in the form of mob violence tocommunal clashes. Apart from that, the assumed role of media in spreading falsepropaganda and setting negative agenda, especially against humanity, many a timelead to a situation where we as consumers fall prey to such deceitful practices of themedia later resulting in the loss of our liberty and freedom. Therefore, as today’s citizens, we need to understand the way media operatesin our society and how it affects our lives so that we can use media for our positivedevelopment. Hence, it is imperative to teach the young minds how to use media forconstructive purposes otherwise it can affect them morally, mentally and alsoemotionally. For instance, the Blue Whale Challenge, an online game that assignsplayers daring or risky challenges and incites children to play this game which mayeventually lead them to take extreme steps for self-inflicting injuries includingsuicides. For creating awareness among society regarding Digital Literacy Kasturi Ram College of Higher Education in Collaboration with NIIT Foundation under UBA Cell organized PR Campaign on Digital Literacy on 14th March 2024 in Lampur Village Narela. Objectives of the Campaign  Appraise the society about the role and functions of media in their lives and the society.  Enlighten the society about the do’s and don’ts when it comes to theuses of media and its gratifications.  Create awareness among the society not to be easily carried away by false media messages.  Motivate the society for their ethical engagement with themedia when it comes to information access and its dissemination. The event commenced with an Introduction and purpose of theDigital literacy campaign. This was followed by a ‘Street Play’ cantering on the themeof ‘Digital literacy.’ A detailed explanation of the street play with its intendedmessage was presented to provide an understanding about the appropriate use of Social media. A session on ‘Fact Checkers’ was conducted byMr. Raman Kumar Singh, InspectorBawana Cyber Cell Stationthat focused on how toanalyze news or information by adopting certain elements and how communication can be distorted, manipulated ormisunderstood in its process. Mr. SubhamoyMandal ,a Partnership Manager at NIIT Foundation, discussed about latest cyber trends, threats, and stayingsafe in cyberspace, and protecting personal andcompany data.Mr. Mandal also discussed how to protect yourpersonal data and privacy online and in social media,and why more and more IT jobs require cyber securityawareness and understanding. Feedback It was observed that the students of all the schools participated with a lot ofenthusiasm and were confident in expressing their opinions. Awareness related tomedia especially social media was present in society .Towards the end of theevent, society members and few students provided a positive feedback on the programmegenerating a lot of interest among community. Dr. SeemaSharma, Director KRCHE was appreciative of the campaign and expressed theirgratitude to the Department of Mass Communication, increating awareness on a pertinent issue.