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Youth, Politics, and Participatory Media

How does digital media affect youth participation in politics? Does social media make kids more or less likely to engage in politics and, when they do, are they effective?  The answers, according to a Youth and Participatory Politics study, contain both good and bad news.

On the plus side, substantial numbers of kids are taking part in participatory politics that relies on social media and is “interactive, peer-based and not guided by traditional institutions.” These activities give kids voice and agency, as well as opportunities to develop communication and leadership skills.

Although over 40 % of youth are engaged in these activities, 63% say they rarely or never discuss political issues with others and 87% avoid the topics online. During the 2008 presidential campaign, a full 64% of voting age people weren’t interested in election news.

A second problem comes from an undeveloped ability to adequately assess the information students find. In a survey in England and Wales, one-third of teens believed “that if a search engine provides information, then it must be reliable.”  Most kids in that survey weren’t good at recognizing bias and propaganda.  As people, especially younger citizens, get more and more of their news online, media and information literacy become even more imperative.

How we gather and make sense of information, how we take that information and use it to solve problems or create innovative products, and how we communicate with others are key 21st century skills that will be useful for all citizens to have. Media and information literacy education can help. Studies have shown that, “when teachers required students to create something online or to go online to find information or different points of view on a societal issue,” students were more apt to get involved online political activities and to see a variety of viewpoints.

Yet “media literacy is such a low priority that there is no national data on how much attention schools pay to this topic.” Elements of media literacy appear in the Common Core State Standards but, without teacher training and unless the new assessments require it, media and information literacy may still be underemphasized.

It’s past time to make media and information literacy, perhaps in a digital citizenship framework, in all schools.


Frank Gallagher is Executive Director of Cable in the Classroom (CIC), the education foundation of the cable telecommunications industry. He is a specialist in media and information literacy, internet safety, digital citizenship, and the impact of media on children and is a former middle school math teacher. Photo Credit:  Vote by Sean McMenemy, Creative Commons. Quotes from:  Kahne, J. & Middaugh, E. (2012, November). Digital media shapes youth participation in politics. Phi Delta Kappan, 94 (3) pp. 52-56. www.kappanmagazine.org (subscription required).

 

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