The youth in media

It is very apparent that media is part of every child’s life and media literacy in our curriculum will  play a very crucial role in the new normal more than ever. We have seen media as a tool and in the time of COVID-19, this tool and the understanding of it, will determine how we can fight fake news.

Let’s face it, at some point, we all have fallen for misinformation but, the culprit to all this is in fact the effects of disinformation. This is why education in media is essential. It teaches us how to go to where “the children are at.” Television, radio, magazines, video games and the like are platforms for both our learners as well as our teachers and honing critical skills must afford us to also understand how these platforms work. In order for any of us to appreciate this, we must develop the ability to identify the different types of media and the messages they are sending.

As a goal, and while at the same time viewing media objectively, we must be able to “spot” what is being presented as a huge amount of information evident from a wide array of sources. The digital age has made it easy for anyone to create media and this is where context, content, fact checking and credibility come i, especially when dealing with fake news. It is certain ( I would presume), that one understands the relationship between media literacy and disinformation and how we can dismiss this. Therefore and in conclusion, it is the job of both parents and teachers to be able to encourage an exchange of ideas where both sides learn from one another. The message from every media source may have a great impact on our learners and on the upside where this platform will be used for online learning, our hope is that, continuity in education proceeds despite the challenges of a pandemic. Again, it is a huge undertaking, however, it must get done.