Media Literacy as a Structural Component of Modern Soft Skills

The work is devoted to the sociological analysis of media literacy as a key component of modern Soft Skills. The publication considers media literacy as an integrated skill that encompasses the ability to critically evaluate, verify and effectively use media resources. It is emphasized that media competence is becoming not only a tool for orientation in the information space, but also a fundamental component of the formation of skills of social interaction, critical thinking, teamwork and adaptability to new information conditions.The relevance of the topic is due to the transformation of the communication space, in which the traditional education system no longer guarantees effective socialization without developing the ability to navigate in a complex, dynamic and oversaturated information environment. Media literacy is gaining importance not only as an individual competence, but also as social capital, which contributes to the adaptation of the individual to the conditions of the digital age. The ability to think critically, analyze sources of information, identify disinformation and resist manipulative practices is considered a social competence that is formed in the process of socialization in the digital environment. In this context, media literacy appears as a means of ensuring the information security of the individual, which is especially relevant in the conditions of hybrid warfare, information pressure and a high concentration of fake messages and politicized content.The results of the study showed that among students, the practices of checking the reliability of information remain mostly improvised and unstructured. Checking the reliability of information is carried out situationally and not according to professional criteria. The most common methods are comparing messages in different sources, trust in the reputation of the media channel or site, as well as an intuitive “sense of plausibility”. The need to move from the declarative level of media literacy development to the practical application of skills in the educational process is substantiated, namely through the introduction into educational programs of thematic classes on the development of fact-checking skills, critical thinking, information hygiene, and the ability to analyze visual content.