Media literacy is an essential skill people need to learn now more than ever as conspiracy theories, false news, and misinformation flood the internet. Parents play a crucial role in ensuring their children are equipped with the tools they need to navigate the modern media landscape.
We make decisions based on what we see in the media. As Maggie McGuire, Pinna’s CEO, points out, that media literacy develops kids’ ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate. It helps them differentiate between credible and fictional sources.
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Media literacy helps kids develop critical thinking skills and express and disseminate their ideas. This is critical to developing citizenship skills so kids can participate in a democracy as they grow and engage in healthy and fair public debates. How to ensure your kids are media literate? Read on below.
Foster Critical Conversations
Media literacy and critical thinking go hand in hand, so parents should promote them daily. We live in a media-saturated world, so parents need to create spaces where children can discuss texts and images surrounding them and critically consume what they view, read, and hear.
Children’s inquiry questions, passions, and interests are the places to start. Discuss and explore media texts that they are interested in. To understand how media texts affect children’s understanding of the world, we can ask them about what they are watching, reading, and hearing.
Whether it’s a social media post or a TV news clip, kids should talk about how things make them feel. Describe when they thought something was true but later found it false.
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Highlight Quality Sources Of Information
Children must learn how to spot misinformation and find accurate, reliable information. Finding quality, authentic sources on the web is harder and maybe more effective. Parents can teach their children how to stay informed with accurate news by introducing them to quality, journalistic news sources.