Adolescents Becoming Critically Literate
Digital media is the main outlet for this country. Society revolves around technology now a day, and adolescents are at the core of this revolution. Adolescents use digital media a tremendous amount. Because of this, people are exposed to a multitude of advertisements daily. Being critically literate with digital media is important as it can open the eyes of media users to the threats of fake news, and internet scams. Digital media can be used for great things, and very powerful things if used correctly. Adolescents must be able to use the media they have in front of them critically in order to become more knowledgeable, and safe individuals’.
Something important to look at when it comes to critical literacy with adolescents, is the use of the internet in public schools. Kids are starting to use computers for their classes as early as the sixth grade. Middle school is an extremely formable time for an adolescent, so keep that in mind when thinking about the fact that they are taught to use the internet as a prime source of all information. It is important to bring up a point presented in one of our class readings. A concern of one of the thinkers behind the Buckingham work was how well schools promoted “critical evaluation of online content” (Buckingham). The schools need to make sure they are aware of the authorship of the content their students are able to access, and the accuracy and objectivity of the information they are able to find. The problem with this is that students at the age of adolescence are more prone to want information that can be accessed quickly, and that is visually appealing to them. The heavy reliance of adolescents on social media is a result of that. The school system is also responsible for exposing students to companies and brands. In another reading from class, the brands that most schools make accessible to their students is actually a concern. Accelerated Reader program is something that is used in many public schools in order to promote reading for students. Putting such pressure on adolescents to read specified books is not such a great thing though. Incentivizing reading on only a certain array of books could push a student away from books that actually interest them. As a result, they could fall out of love with reading altogether. Corporate entities like the Accelerated Reader program must be more critically analyzed by the school system, and students must learn to more critically evaluate thee programs and how it affects them. In this video about some easy steps to become a better reader, the speaker provides some great tips on how to actual learn while reading. These steps cannot be accomplished when students are reading strictly for AR points.
Social media is another aspect that needs to be looked at when it comes to adolescents. There is no indication that the power of social media will go down anywhere in the future, so students must learn how to use these outlets critically. I found a very good article about using social media critically, and it is very important of adolescents. Social media can be used as a model for students on how to relate to those that are different from them. Intelligence comes from being able to learn things from a vast number of contexts, and social media can teach students to “evaluate ideas without personal bias, as well as the ability to sit with an idea and analyze it without accepting or rejecting it” (source 2). Social media also helps students analyze their citizenship, as they can see the effects of the behavior on their peers. A big part of teaching students to use the media they have in front of them in a positive learning way is also making sure they analyze the media they use. Students must be able to know when certain things that come up on social media sites are worthy of red flags. Through a student becoming critically literate with social media, those outlets can be used by adolescents for a lasting positive impact.
Bibliography:
Required Readings:
Buckingham, D. (2007). Digital Media Literacies: Rethinking Media Education in the Age of the Internet. Research in Comparative and International Education
Warner, J. (2017). Adolescents’ New Literacies with and through Mobile Phones. New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing
Outside Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1UF5l7Pzhg
Heick, Terry. “10 Strategies To Help Students Use Social Media For Critical Thinking -.” TeachThought, 2 July 2018, www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/10-strategies-help-students-use-social-media-critical-thinking/.
