The news isn't what it used to be. What was once shared by newspapers, radio, and TV now comes in Snapchat stories, on Facebook Live broadcasts, in Twitter conversations, and through other new forms of communication.
But parents still want and need their kids to be good citizens. This is where Common Sense Media (CSM) comes in to support all of us.
CSM has conducted a research study that explores kids' relationship to the news and how adults can help kids thrive as 21st-century citizens. News and America's Kids investigates how children get their news, how much they trust different news sources, whether they can spot "fake news," and more. This report captures children's candid feelings via an online survey. The survey was conducted in January 2017 and included 853 children age 10–18 drawn from a nationally representative panel, as well as an oversample of African-American and Hispanic/Latino children drawn from an opt-in web panel. For quick access to the complete report follow this link.
Their findings speak to the importance of supporting tweens' and teens' media-literacy skills, the critical thinking needed to judge the value of information.
In the short term, that means that when kids come across a suspicious news story on Facebook, they need to know how to interpret the information and whether it's worth sharing. In the long term, that means teaching them to question what they see, hear, and interact with to become not only good citizens but good digital citizens.
Common Sense has a number of resources to help families develop the tools they need to thrive as 21st-century citizens. And since the No. 1 place kids hear about news is from the adults in their lives, we need to model how to consume news, encourage kids to think critically about sources, and discuss the news with the children in our lives.
For more information follow this link. Watch the video and read the information provided in the links below.
Media literacy is critical for kids and teens whose exposure to fake news, political satire, and scary news is greater than ever. With CSM's digital literacy resources, parents can help kids fact-check the news, determine reliable sources, and learn to separate fact from fiction. Learn the how's and why's of explaining the news to kids, the impact of social media on the news, and even how to decode online advertising. These information-literacy skills will help kids think critically, resist advertising pressure, and become smart consumers.
The word "literacy" usually describes the ability to read and write. Reading literacy and media literacy have a lot in common. Reading starts with recognizing letters. Pretty soon, readers can identify words -- and, most importantly, understand what those words mean. Readers then become writers. With more experience, readers and writers develop strong literacy skills. (Learn specifically about news literacy.)
Media literacy is the ability to identify different types of media and understand the messages they're sending. Kids take in a huge amount of information from a wide array of sources, far beyond the traditional media (TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines) of most parents' youth. There are text messages, memes, viral videos, social media, video games, advertising, and more.
But all media shares one thing: Someone created it. And it was created for a reason. Understanding that reason is the basis of media literacy. (Learn how to use movies and TV to teach media literacy.) The digital age has made it easy for anyone to create media. We don't always know who created something, why they made it, and whether it's credible. This makes media literacy tricky to learn and teach. Nonetheless, media literacy is an essential skill in the digital age.
For more information follow this link.
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