Why Children Need to Be Taught Data Literacy
Traditional literacy won’t help children navigate the age of social media
When Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1990, he had also laid out the foundations for modern age social media. Some of you might like to call it the “Age of Information”, for obvious reasons. But, I see this as the “Age of Misinformation”.
The concept of propagation of knowledge through social media is priceless. But what makes this a less-attractive affair is the ability of the internet to loosen up the constraints of information sharing. People often succumb to the tendency to propagate news online without verifying its associated validity.
Enough articles have been written about how social media should be used responsibly. Some articles even provide tips on social media etiquette. However, educating the public about the responsible usage of social media won’t help rid the network of malicious propaganda. We need a contingency plan for when people do wrong with the power of social media.
Bring the Magnet to the Haystack
Much of what we see on the news is driven by agenda. Multiple news channels report the same event with different narratives. The real problem arises when they begin to lie. Political propaganda…
