Why Media Literacy Matters
Working with my students, I’ve been thinking a lot about how much information my students take in every single day, and how little of it they actually stop to question such as privacy policies that are very long. Between social media, AI tools, and constant online access, students are bombarded by content. Access does not automatically mean understanding so digital literacy becomes essential.
As an educator, I see social media literacy as more than just reading or viewing content. It is about helping students learn how to think, analyze, question, and verify the information they encounter. In Louisiana, where technology access continues to grow, a technology teacher’s responsibility is to make sure students are not just connected, but keenly aware. Without the knowledge base and skills, misinformation is easily accepted as truth.
One framework that really resonates with me is Renee Hobbs’ five competencies: access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act (Hobbs, 2010). While all five matter, I find myself focusing most on analyzing and evaluating. I have seen how quickly students trust something simply because it looks polished or appears on a familiar platform. Teaching them to slow down, ask questions, and verify sources is one of the most important things I can do as an educator.
Foundations
I also keep coming back to Howard Rheingold’s idea that attention is the foundation of all digital literacies (Rheingold, 2010). That really stuck with me since this is my ADHD child's issue and many of my students. If students cannot manage their attention, they cannot fully engage in learning or critical thinking. In my STEM+ labs, I see this struggle daily as some research is clouded with notifications and constant scrolling that compete for the student’s focus as I ask them to multitask listening and doing. Rheingold’s emphasis on “mindful attention” feels even more relevant today than when he first wrote about it in 2010 since, according to the Neurodiversity Alliance, an estimate of 15-20% of the world population is neurodiverse and Bio Science Today estimates 1 in 6 children in the US.
Detectives
Another concept from Rheingold that I actively try to teach is “critical consumption,” or what he calls “crap detection” (Rheingold, 2010). Students today have to act as investigators. They need to ask: Who created this? Is it credible? What do other sources say? I try to make this practical by having students verify information across multiple sources and evaluate authorship and bias.
At the same time, I do think something is missing from Rheingold’s original framework. Artificial Intelligence was not in the mix and AI literacy is becoming a daily skill. Students are now interacting with content that may not even be created by humans, which adds a whole new layer to evaluating accuracy and credibility. AI is better at giving references, but it still lacks the explanation of logic, and like humans, sometimes makes up things it doesn’t have reference material to copy.
Social Media News
This all connects strongly to Marshall McLuhan’s idea that “the medium is the message” (McLuhan, 1964). What I take from this is that the platform itself shapes how we understand information. I see this clearly with my students. A short video on TikTok can feel more convincing than a well-researched article simply because of how it is presented. McLuhan’s idea reminds me that I need to teach students to question not just the content, but the platform delivering it.
In the lab, I try to bring all of this together in practical ways. I teach strategies like lateral reading, encouraging students to verify information elsewhere. We talk about author credibility, publication dates, and bias through real-world examples. Examples like Gerber baby food had to change their logo in Africa because in Africa the image on the product reflects the content inside. This really makes kids want to say, “no one would believe the baby food is a baby” until they check other sites. The layers of information takes them down a rabbit hole of finding confirmation to this advertisement failure, fake news, and original roots to facts. It is one of many examples of fake news being rooted by a single truth.
At the end of the day, media literacy is not something I can teach once and move on. It is something I have to reaffirm every lesson. My goal is to help students become more thoughtful, more aware, and more responsible in how they engage with online information because in today’s environment, it is not optional. It is essential.
References
Hobbs, R. (2010). Digital and media literacy: A plan of action. Aspen Institute.
McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding media: The extensions of man. McGraw-Hill.
Media Education Lab. (n.d.). Digital and media literacy education. https://mediaeducationlab.com/digital-and-media-literacy-education
Rheingold, H. (2010). Attention, and other 21st-century social media literacies. EDUCAUSE Review, 45(5), 14–24.
Hi Brittany, Way to connect Hobbs’ competencies with Rheingold’s focus on attention—your point about “mindful attention” as a foundation, especially for neurodiverse learners, feels incredibly relevant. Plus, you classroom examples, like lateral reading and the Gerber case, make the need for analysis and evaluation feel very tangible for students. I’m curious how you might continue integrating AI literacy into this work, especially as students increasingly rely on AI-generated information.
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ReplyDeleteHi Brittney! I loved how clear and honest you were about the need for media and AI literacy, especially as an educator. I'm not an educator, but the past couple of weeks learning about media literacy, I have a newfound appreciation for current educators, as the complexities you guys are tasked with teaching are extreme. Especially with media and AI literacy, it's vital to continue to reaffirm the cyber safety ideals that you're instructing the students on, and I can imagine it's not an easy task. Thank you for sharing! (Also I reposted the comment because I misspelled your name the first time, I'm sorry!)
ReplyDelete"Access does not automatically mean understanding" is a powerful statement. I also find it fascinating that McLuhan's statement was made over 60 years ago and it still holds true!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your whole post but I really wanted to focus on some of what you said at the very end of it. You not how digital literacy is not something you just teach once and move on from. You have to practice it often and that it key for true understanding. This is an approach that I wonder if my library spaces should take on. Often it feels that we do a singular program and no others until the following year on the topic. However, in order to really help citizens become informed and able to to analyze and evaluate, just as we hope students can too. Thank you for your post. The last thing I want to agree on is that you're right, media literacy is not an optional thing.
ReplyDeleteBrittney! I did not even think about AI and its impact on Rheingold literacies! But, I think for me, I still stand and say that they stay true to this day. I think that the literacies can be used to evaluate AI- as in, if students are competent in the Rheingold's theory they will critically consume the information they receive and not hesitate to wonder where it came from and whether it can be trusted!
ReplyDeleteHello! I agree you highlighting the importance of analyzing and evaluating. Although all five steps are all important in there own regard, I think having the skill to fully analyze something is so important. Especially in the age of AI and the bustle of everyday life, taking the time to slow down and really evaluate media, and or a situation is so useful. It prevents so much, like scams, phishing, miscommunication.
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