Abstract

The current significantly increasing progress of information and communication has influenced the essence of children's and adolescents’ education. While public life is intertwined with the media, to concern the various dimensions of the media and to get accustomed to its opportunities and threats seems a pivotal issue. As the use of any tool requires the relevant knowledge, the proper use of the media necessitates educating the associated literacy. Media literacy is taught for specific goals among countries. In Canada, they begin to teach it to avoid the importation of American culture since childhood. Japan's approach concerns technology literacy and some countries aim at raising public awareness and preventing cultural aggression. However, in Iran, no fundamental action has been taken in the field of media literacy. According to the Fundamental Transformation Document, media literacy education is essential as the beginning of an auspicious movement to provide students with critical and participatory thinking about the media. Research on media literacy education has led to the emergence of questioning habits, researching, strengthening expressive skills for making a conscious and critical connection with the media, and establishing a precise look with a critical analysis of media messages. The present article primarily addresses the theoretical basis, the meaning of literacy, media literacy, its dimensions, advantages and necessity of teaching media literacy, so that the reader is encouraged to learn media literacy while being informed about the meaning, significance, and urgency of it.