Seattle School District, with a 2022 operating budget of $1.14 billion, is taking the social-media giants TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat to court, accusing them of harming young minds, worsening mental health and creating behavioural disorders including anxiety, depression, disordered eating and cyberbullying.
According to an article titled “Learning and Teaching Media Literacy in Canada” by Michael Hoechsmann, chair of education programs at Lakehead University in Orillia, Ont., there are a few exceptional programs in certain schools in Canada and the U.S. but, “in general, media literacy is one domain of study where the variety of approaches and outcomes is extraordinary.”
Another influential voice, Olga Polites, the leader of the New Jersey chapter of the non-profit advocacy group Media Literacy Now, points out that: “If we can ensure that our K-12 students learn the critical thinking skills necessary in order to be able to identify credible sources of information, to ask questions and to create their own information, we would really be moving the needle on helping them become more civically responsible citizens.
Then there is detecting the use of loaded or emotionally charged words, such as “disaster” or “amazing” or absolute terms, like “all” or “none” and that politician’s favourite “everybody tells me,” which is only relevant if backed up by solid data. The New Jersey program, when implemented, will be K-12. But aren’t children K-3 a bit young for this stuff?