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If we don’t elevate media literacy charges, our society will crumble. Sound dire? It’s not attainable to make it dire sufficient. I’ve watched a mis- and disinformation epidemic unfold from the vantage level of a instructor, a mother or father, a daughter, and a neighborhood member. I’ve seen the big and small methods wherein data floods with no deep dives can result in strongly held and poorly shaped opinions amongst individuals of all ages. I’ve watched as individuals from many alternative worth programs and political backgrounds take social media movies as undisputed info, operating rampant with a wholesome dose of affirmation bias validating no matter resonates with their preexisting notions. We are able to’t get the reality primarily based on vibes.
What’s media literacy?
The Nationwide Affiliation for Media Literacy Schooling (NAMLE) defines media literacy as the power to “access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act” utilizing all types of communication.” It’s usually used to debate on-line types of media however can confer with non-digital codecs as effectively. It appears to me that web discourse and ease of sharing are the most important risks to our capacity to purpose. People have by no means had entry to so many alternative items of knowledge.
The reality is getting tougher to seek out.
Truthfully, nobody must work that onerous to trick us. In a examine led by academic psychologist Sam Wineburg, PhD, a pattern of highschool college students had been requested questions on completely different movies and web sites. Zara Abrams, writing for the American Psychological Affiliation’s Monitor on Psychiatry, reported, “More than half of the students in the study [ ] believed that a Facebook video that appeared to show ballot stuffing, shot in Russia and posted anonymously, was “strong evidence” of U.S. voter fraud.” There’s a widespread joke that when individuals say, “I read an article,” they imply, “I saw a Tiktok.” We’re taking what we see at face worth.
It’s all of us.
Not a lot of what I’ve stated right here is groundbreaking. Everyone knows that the web twists considering, and that this results in giant swaths of individuals shopping for into misinformation (which is fake data or getting issues flawed) and disinformation (which is meant to mislead or flawed on function) with probably disastrous outcomes.
All of that is nearly as overwhelming because the sheer quantity of knowledge itself. After I overheard an acquaintance say, “Donald Trump is the most pro-choice candidate, right?” on election day of 2024, I felt like an anvil had been dropped on my head. I wished to scream, “Obviously not!” However the fact was, I didn’t know what his actual coverage on abortion was. In my head, Trump was dangerous, and abortion rights had been good, so by no means the 2 shall meet. Now, I nonetheless imagine that having Trump in workplace just isn’t a win for abortion rights. Nevertheless, my acquaintance was making an offhand remark that was not primarily based actually. And my “obviously” response wasn’t primarily based actually, both. We are able to’t get the reality primarily based on vibes.
How are you aware?
Please don’t assume I’m abruptly questioning whether or not I agree with Donald Trump’s insurance policies. I’ve executed my analysis, and I’m uncomfortable with him as an individual simply primarily based on the phrases he says and the individuals he mocks. Nevertheless, if I would like my children, my neighbors, and my colleagues to confirm their sources, I’m going to need to do the identical. I’m beginning small, with a easy query that leaves behind argument: “How do you know?” It really works for all the pieces. It’s already simple for me to ask this query when my son confidently states a “fact” he bought from a TikTok video, or when somebody makes a vile declare like “immigrants are taking all our jobs!” It’s tougher to ask myself when I’m speaking about one thing I deeply imagine, just like the evils of weight loss program tradition or the brokenness of the US schooling system. How are you aware? What are your sources? What are the info? We are able to’t get the reality primarily based on vibes!
Now what?
“How do you know?” isn’t going to save lots of the world. It’s only a jumping-off level. As soon as we’re snug admitting that we have to confirm our sources and again up our claims, we’ll begin searching for these solutions as rapidly as we beforehand shared infographics or snappy messages that resonated with us. Settling into this fact additionally helps us notice that our kids want a strong basis of media literacy to outlive the ever-growing data networks that batter our brains with clickbait headlines. These expertise should be explicitly taught alongside math and studying.
A number of organizations are leaping in with unimaginable classes that put questioning frameworks into place and assist younger individuals test their information with the identical ease they put into sharing one thing to their Instagram tales.
As a Media Specialist, I’ve all the time adored Widespread Sense Schooling, however not too long ago, Civic On-line Reasoning, The Middle for Media and Data Literacy, and Media Literacy Now have additionally come on my radar. These assets assist stakeholders share classes and promote laws that prioritizes instructing Media Literacy within the schooling system. As Assemblymember Marc Berman, JD, an legal professional who represents California’s twenty third District and helps the state’s digital literacy regulation, says, “I can’t force adults to go back to school and take media literacy, but at a minimum, we can make sure that our young people are getting the skills they need for today’s world.”
So, again to my unique proclamation. Is an absence of media literacy actually that dire? Ask Sam Wineburg, PhD, the co-founder of the Digital Inquiry Group. In an article entitled Our Democracy is At Threat, he states, “I’ve come to believe that reliable information is to civic health what clean water and proper sanitation are to public health. Never has so much information been at our fingertips as it is today. Whether this bounty will make us smarter and better informed or more ignorant and narrow-minded will depend on one thing: our educational response to this challenge.”
That just about sums it up. Overwhelmed? Maintain it easy. Ask your self, “How do you know?” and do your finest.