Misinformation and Youth: Barriers to Successful Media Literacy
Media Literacy, as defined by National Association for Media Literacy Education, is “the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act using all forms of communication.”
“Getting educated” is often considered the first line of defense against misinformation. When platforms and policymakers cannot keep up with the ever-perfecting creations of misinformation, being educated and having sufficient media literacy knowledge can come in handy to help us not fall victim to the influence of misinformation.
Throughout recent years, numerous institutions and organizations have put out resources and initiatives to promote media literacy against misinformation. But are current offerings meeting the complex needs of this issue? Is media literacy something that can be taught successfully with one type of curriculum, regardless of its students’ demographics?
The Myth of One-Size-Fits-All Media Literacy Education
Education requires systematic planning and execution, since deep comprehension of a subject cannot be gained overnight. This is why we break down knowledge into levels of progression for students to absorb the bits of content (or knowledge) that are most relatable and easily digested in a given context. Media literacy is no exception. However, as scholars pointed out in a recent study, current programs promoting media literacy oftentimes approach the issue from the perspective of adults and are designed with adults as the targeted demographic in mind. Though it is important for programs to be effective in helping adults recognize and combat misinformation, such programs may not be the most effective for audiences that are younger.
Children are especially vulnerable to misinformation, but giving them the same media literacy course as an adult might not be the solution they need. A survey conducted by Stanford found that more than 80% of middle school students who participated could not distinguish between sponsored content and genuine story even when the sponsored content was identified as “sponsored” on the given webpage. The researchers concluded that this inability to distinguish between sponsored content and the genuine story could be traced to the students’ insufficient understanding of what sponsorship meant.
If one were to make a media literacy education program for adults, teaching them about distinguishing advertisement and sponsorships, the information (and sometimes misinformation) presented with a goal of financial gain, from normal and factual context would be something essential. However, because an adult oftentimes has little trouble understanding what sponsorship means, a program targeting adults might spend little time explaining the term and spend more time on other subjects. Children, on the other hand, do not have the life experience to understand fully what sponsorship means. If the same program is used on children to help them understand misinformation, such a program may cause more confusion than create assertion and clarification.
It is also important to take into account the individualization of every piece of media we consume these days and how that can lead to differences in the types of information we are exposed to on a daily basis. A ten-year-old is unlikely to be interested in the same topics as a 14-, -18- or 20-year-old. It is difficult, thus, in such a situation for a curriculum for “everyone” to be effective when each age group and demographic has a tailored and individualized pool of information that they are exposed to. Taking such elements in information diversity into account, therefore, is one of the most crucial things that an educator can consider when looking at designing programs that promote media literacy.
Difficulties and the Road Ahead
Differences in life experiences, exposure to individualized content, and developmental stages can all make generalized media literacy programs unsuitable for young audiences. However, as more and more studies underscored the critical impact of media and misinformation on young children, such difficulties are now being brought to light and taken into consideration when educators design new programs. Questionnaires and modules to help young audiences become aware and understand misinformation in everyday life have surged in recent years because of such studies recognizing the differences exist.
However, acknowledging the need for diversity in media literacy education programs is only a beginning. Making such programs accessible to different young audiences across different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, once the projects prove to be successful, is also a concern that many educators need to address.
But it is not to say that the future is without hope. Scholars have been working in the past years to create programs that help students recognize misinformation. The News Literacy Project has created programs for educators and students to learn more about news and how information can be manipulated in the ways that it is presented. Games such as Reality Check and Go Viral! have also emerged in recent years, helping people combat misinformation through interactive learning. Stanford University has also launched its own Civic Online Reasoning course that individuals can access and learn more about information evaluation on online platforms. However, it is still important to remember that, although there have been new programs designed for specific audiences because they are new and few in number, the impact, and effects of such programs, short-term and long-term, are still to be observed and studied.
Misinformation is easy to fabricate and propagate; nevertheless, the journey to prevent deception and limit its impact is not simple. “Go and educate yourself” is convenient refrain; however, it is only by recognizing the barriers in what would seem to be an easy step that we will truly make progress.
References:
Evaluating information: The cornerstone of civic online reasoning (no date) Stanford History Education Group. Available at: https://sheg.stanford.edu/evaluating-information-cornerstone-civic-online-reasoning (Accessed: 25 May 2023).
Jolley, D. et al. (2021) ‘Measuring adolescents’ beliefs in conspiracy theories: Development and validation of the adolescent conspiracy beliefs questionnaire (ACBQ)’, British Journal of Developmental Psychology [Preprint]. doi:10.1111/bjdp.12368.
Moyer, M.W. (2022) Schoolkids are falling victim to disinformation and conspiracy fantasies, Scientific American. Available at: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/schoolkids-are-falling-victim-to-disinformation-and-conspiracy-fantasies/ (Accessed: 25 May 2023).
Media Literacy defined (2021) NAMLE. Available at: https://namle.net/resources/media-literacy-defined/ (Accessed: 11 June 2023).
For everyone (2023) News Literacy Project. Available at: https://newslit.org/for-everyone/ (Accessed: 11 June 2023).
Gusmanson.nl (2023) Play go viral!: Stop covid-19 misinformation spreading, Go viral! Available at: https://www.goviralgame.com/en (Accessed: 11 June 2023).
Reality check: The game (2019) MediaSmarts. Available at: https://mediasmarts.ca/digital-media-literacy/educational-games/reality-check-game (Accessed: 11 June 2023).
Cor (no date) Civic Online Reasoning, Home. Available at: https://cor.stanford.edu/ (Accessed: 11 June 2023).
