Media literacy education acknowledges that the digital world is with us 24/7. "Screenagers" (young people who have grown up with digital media) who live to age 75 will spend nine years watching television; and the virtual world challenges us to determine what is real when "green screen" technology can put a reporter anywhere in the world. Some conscientious objectors choose to live without technology. Media literacy is an alternative that emphasizes independent thinking and personal choice.
Once, elders passed down values to younger generations personally. Today children face a mix of real and virtual ties that may outrank the home environment. Given this situation, children need to form habits for making judgments about media. They need to move, as the Center for Media Literacy puts it, from awareness through analysis and reflection before action. Media literacy education aims to put them in the driver's seat.
Media cannot be taken at face value. The Center for Media Literacy offers a questioning process:
- Who created this message?
- What creative techniques are used to attract my attention?
- How might different people understand this message differently?
- What values, lifestyles and points of view are represented in or omitted from this message? (What gets the most "real estate"?)
- Why is this message being sent? Is there, for example, a profit motive?
Most of us use the Internet or television to be informed. We need computer skills in the workplace. To be literate today is to be able to handle all forms of information. Reading and writing are supplemented by understanding visual language and designing multimedia messages. Buying, selling, expressing opinions, and signing petitions increasingly require media interaction, and participation has gone digital.
Instead of competing with media, we can use it. We can seek out projects that will engage students and expose them to important issues. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that students taught media literacy tested higher in reading and writing. It also cites studies showing benefits in the areas of violence, body image, and substance abuse. These children have gotten what expert Cary Bazalgette calls "the pedagogic equivalent of a tetanus shot."
The results so far seem to speak positively for media literacy in school. Children who have experienced it move from passive watching to mental activity, discussing techniques they observe during everyday viewing. This engagement sets up an equation for success. Ultimately, any media literacy program works best when everyone is on board: teachers, parents, and the children themselves.