The meanings of media competence refer to:
- The ability to access mass media, to understand an evaluate contents and various other aspects of mass media critically;
- The capacity to create/produce in the field of communication;
- The ability to filter, select and use to own benefit the multitude of information sent by the mass media.
Media competence does not represent the same thing as the mere capacity of reading a newspaper or of watching a certain TV programme.
Media competency refers to literacy, to the necessity of selecting, controlling and capitalizing on the complexity of the media and the volume of information at one’s disposal according to the personal necessities.
Media competence represents the core stone of media pedagogy. It may be described by the next key concepts: Access/ Use, Analyze/Evaluate, Produce/ Create