Critical Literacy: How to Evaluate Digital Media
With the rapid advances in technology within the last twenty years, it has become increasingly important for adolescents to be discerning when dealing with digital media. No matter where I look, I constantly see children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 15 using tablets, phones, and laptops. It is more common for these technologies to be utilized in school, as well as for entertainment. Even though these kids probably feel that they know exactly how to use these technologies, it is important for adults and teachers to instruct them to be critical when evaluating the reliability of a source. For adolescents to critically use digital media, they need to evaluate the reliability of the information, perceive when a work is biased, and recognize if creators are dependable.
It is common knowledge that most adolescents believe that they already understand everything there is to know about technology. However, even though adolescents likely know how to create a social identity and navigate around the internet, it is important for teachers to demonstrate how to be critical when dealing with digital media. Teachers should teach kids the 5 dimensions of critical digital literacy: decoding, meaning making, analyzing, persona, and using. By decoding, students should be able to “understand the norms and practices of digital environments” (Teaching, 2018). They also need to be able to relate meanings to prior knowledge and analyze digital content. Lastly, teachers should teach students to create a persona through digital participation and apply tools and techniques to create solutions in digital spaces. These are all important skills that are required for adolescents to critically navigate digital spaces. However, it is also important to give students the ability to discuss their opinions with other students. According to Buckingham, “group work provides important opportunities for reflection, deliberation and dialogue; and it is only through these processes that connections can be made between hands-on practice and the broader conceptual concerns of media education.”
It is important for everyone, including children and adults, to be able to explore the internet and look for reliable sources. The above video states that “we need to understand how to evaluate and look at the authenticity and validity of the wealth of information available to us” (University, 2014). In the 21st century, advertisements can be found everywhere throughout the global digital platform. Even on social media, where adolescents spend a lot of their free time, online advertisements are a problematic phenomenon. “Mobile phone-compatible social networks popular with youth like Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat have monetized their sites by incorporating advertisements into the sites. The advertisements take the form of what look like normal posts and can easily be mistaken for organic social content.” (Warner, 2017). Adolescents need to be aware that they are viewing an advertisement and not a normal social post.
Adolescents also need to be aware of online scams. On the internet, kids should be able to evaluate what information is reliable. For example, there are websites that will ask for unnecessary information such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, and locations. These are most likely scams that will steal your money or identity.
Also, catfishing has become a global phenomenon that affects many adolescents. This is an occurrence where people will use fake identities on online dating apps such as Tinder. These people pretend to be another person and trick someone into a long-term online relationship. Therefore, adolescents need to be aware of these predators and be prepared to avoid these situations.
In order to critically evaluate digital media, adolescents need to be taught to “verify and refute online information, investigate author credentials, detect bias, and negotiate multiple perspectives” (Coiro, 2014).
Required Readings:
Buckingham, D. “Digital Media Literacies: rethinking media education in the age of the Internet” Research in Comparative and International Education. 2:1. 2007.
Warner, J. “Critical Digital Literacies”, Adolescents’ New Literacies with and through Mobile Phones. 2017.
Outside Resources:
Coiro, J. (2014, April 7). Teaching Adolescents How to Evaluate the Quality of Online Information. Retrieved October 21, 2018, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/evaluating-quality-of-online-info-julie-coiro
Teaching critical digital literacy. (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2018, from https://folgerpedia.folger.edu/Teaching_critical_digital_literacy
TeachThoughtStaff. (2018, September 26). 5 Dimensions Of Critical Digital Literacy: A Framework. Retrieved October 21, 2018, from https://www.teachthought.com/literacy/5-dimensions-of-critical-digital-literacy/
University of Derby. (2014, November 05). Digital literacy and why it matters. Retrieved October 21, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2k3C-iB88w
