EDITORIAL| Time to Take Media Literacy Education Seriously

MediaSmarts

“WHEREAS it is the goal of a democratic society to ensure that all its members receive an education that enables them to become literate, personally fulfilled and publicly useful, thereby increasing the strength and contributions to the health and stability of that society;

AND WHEREAS the purpose of the British Columbia school system is to enable all learners to become literate, develop their individual potential, and acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to contribute to a healthy, democratic and pluralistic society and a prosperous and sustainable economy;”

Those two paragraphs from the preamble to the School Act, the massive provincial statute that outlines the framework for public education in British Columbia.

With the rise of digital news platforms – social media, websites, email newsletters – it is no surprise that Canadians are increasingly relying on the internet for daily news. In fact, a study by the Pew Research Center found that 42 per cent of Canadians get their news through social media, with 27 per cent checking several times a day. In that study (which surveyed 38 nations), Canada ranked 2nd among “advanced countries” in social media use for news acquisition.

Within students, this trend is no doubt even more pronounced. Our generation is glued to our phones, earning the moniker “screenagers” from older folk. A scroll through Instagram stories brings a barrage of reposts – breaking news headlines, social justice-related infographics – all up for just 24 hours! Reload a day later and be bombarded with a new crop of coloured graphics and catchy photographs.

The constant output of information from social media calls into question its credibility. Users are often quick to repost or share content that they see without properly assessing the legitimacy of the information. A study conducted by the Canadian Journalism Foundation suggested that misinformation circulates six times as fast as the truth and that 90 per cent of Canadians admit to falling for fake news.

BC’s new curriculum emphasizes, among other things, critical thinking skills. In a post-truth era, (post-truth is a term thrown around a lot; it’s defined in the Cambridge English Dictionary as “relating to a situation in which people are more likely to accept an argument based on their emotions and beliefs, rather than one based on facts”), educators must address the threat to democracy posed by media illiteracy.

Education officials local and provincial must heavily promote the integration of media literacy in schools. MediaSmarts and dozens of other journalism or educational organizations have classroom resources available for all Social Studies teachers, who can implement coursework that aligns perfectly with the core competencies sought by BC’s robust curriculum.

Every student should leave high school with a strong understanding of how to read, interpret, and understand the news in a way that leaves them well-positioned to obtain the truth. It’s time we take media literacy seriously, as neglecting it threatens the foundation of Canadian democracy and fails the guidance offered in the School Act.