Raising Kids with Media Literacy
“I’m really grateful I grew up in a house in which media literacy was a survival skill.”
~ Chelsea Clinton
Media messages influence our lives in a myriad of ways, from the items we purchase and food we eat to our choice of political candidates in elections and even how we feel about ourselves. It isn’t just us. Our kids’ lives are being shaped, and opinions formed, by messages in the media. A growing number of schools are teaching lessons in media literacy to help them understand the role media plays in society and to develop the skills needed to recognize different types of media and evaluate sources of information.
Kids are growing up immersed in the world of social media. Increasingly, kids, teens, and even some adults are not getting information from trusted and respected journalists. Some are sharing memes created by questionable sources filled with inaccurate information and outright lies. It’s important for kids and teens to know if they are reading reliable information, a persuasive advertisement, or conspiracy theories from a random person in his mom’s basement posing as an insider in the intelligence community.
If we want our kids to develop critical thinking skills and recognize unreliable sources or conspiracy theories, they need to be taught media literacy. This is already happening in schools in some areas of the country. Many organizations and school districts have developed a whole curriculum and major companies, such as Scholastic, have resources for teachers. Unfortunately, media literacy isn’t being taught everywhere.
Teaching Media Literacy at Home
Since not all schools are teaching these skills adequately, or at all, educating kids about media literacy needs to happen in homes. Consuming media together and monitoring what they are watching and engaging with is the most effective way to teach our kids the basics of media literacy. Talk to them about what they are seeing starting at a young age.
The discussions should be tailored to the age and maturity level of the child, as well as the types of media they are consuming. When the kids are little, talk to them about real vs. not real in television and videos they may be watching on YouTube and other online sources. Tell them about a time that you thought something was real and found out that it wasn’t and ask them about similar experiences.
As they get older, you can talk more about the people that are creating the ads, videos, and other media that kids are seeing. Have them consider the type and purpose of the media and entertainment they are consuming. For example, are they trying to sell something or spread a message for another reason? Talk about how images and language in specific videos or memes are used to manipulate or persuade them.
Kids are naturally inquisitive. When teaching them about media literacy, encourage them to question everything. Modeling this behavior for them is even more helpful, especially for younger kids. Let them see you questioning the sources of information and rejecting disinformation. Show older kids and teens how fake news is circulated and talk about why people and groups intentionally spread disinformation.
Fact checking is important, but we are constantly bombarded with so much information that checking everything is impossible. Encourage them to get information from reliable, high quality sources, rather than just social media and YouTube videos. Make sure you are getting your news from outlets with high journalistic standards, so you can point them in the direction of reliable and trusted news sources. They absorb a lot from what is on the television, even when we think they aren’t paying attention.
Kids of all ages can be taught to check in with their feelings when they are engaging with videos, social media posts, advertisements, and other media. If a message is invoking anger, making them feel afraid, or manipulating their feelings to get them to buy something, they can learn to recognize that and become less susceptible to manipulation.
The Center for Media Literacy has created a list of resources for parents to help parents and kids navigate the ever-expanding digital media environment. The National Association for Media Literacy Education offers a guide to media literacy for parents with tips for starting conversations at home.
Kids are as vulnerable to inaccurate information spread in the media and on social media as adults and lack the knowledge, life experience, and critical thinking skills to evaluate the messages they are receiving. The best scenario is schools and parents working together to help kids learn how to evaluate media messages and find reliable sources of information.
