The State of Digital Literacy in America
One of the topics that we are discussing in class this week is digital citizenship, which somehow I have never even heard about, much less discussed in an academic setting. I'm a little aghast at that, seeing at how fitting it is for our current times. It makes me wonder if media literacy should be mandatory in America's K-12 schools and/or a required class as part of the liberal arts curriculum at the college level. I do not think that it is currently even mentioned in classes at all, and it is very apparent in the way that some people act on social media.
Take, for instance, parents who will post pictures of their infants and older children on social media when they are performing innocent but vulnerable behavior like taking a bath or learning to use the toilet properly for the first time. According to the Child Rescue Coalition, pedophiles will search for pictures using hashtags like #bathtime, #toilettraing, #pottytraining, #nakedbaby, and #naptime. I am not trying to shame all American parents, but I know a lot of people who are my age (and I'm right on the millenial-Gen Z cusp!) who still haven't figured out privacy settings on social media and post every little thing that their children do along with hashtags like these. I understand being proud of your child but everything doesn't need to be broadcast publicly to the world, especially when your posts are public! Also, your children are not able to consent to their image being posted on social media. What if, in 10 years' time, your son sees that you posted a picture of him naked on Facebook? The minimum is that he's going to be embarrassed and upset with you; it might even affect his job prospects. That sounds a bit harsh, but we don't know what the future will be like! Maybe that's just my anxiety talking... I'm glad that blogs are basically just places on the Internet for people to rant about their personal opinions.
Anyway, I have been reading through the Digital Citizenship Education Handbook provided by the Council of Europe for class. I have not finished it but I am impressed with what I have seen thus far, particularly with the figures and charts which I feel like are great visual educational tools. I don't think that all Americans would read something similar if it was published by our government, but I do wish that the U.S. would assemble a committee of experts on social media, communication, etc. who provided something like it and that it was taught in our schools. I found this organization, but it does not look like its curriculum was created by experts to me. I have not done much research into it though, so maybe I am wrong.
What are your thoughts on the state of digital literacy in the United States? Do you think that it should be taught in schools, or do you think that it falls on individual citizens to educate themselves?
I do think digital literacy should be taught in schools, and I appreciate you highlighting the topic!
ReplyDeleteI agree, I have never posted any vulnerable pictures of my children online and I really don't understand how a parent can think that is ok. I agree that privacy settings need to be learned but that content should never be shared on social media to begin with. Most pedophilia happens by someone that knows the family.
ReplyDeleteI did have some normal pictures of my kids on social media but a few years ago I took all of those pictures down. My wife and I don't post pictures of our kids on social media but we our families will post pictures of them sometimes. We haven't asked them to stop at this time.
I do teach media literacy to my seven and eighth grade students as a part of my computer curriculum. I also talk about it in my other classes regularly.
I have discussed digital literacy with my students- I teach 9th grade- and I am honestly always talking about it with them....especially my cheerleaders who live on tik tok. I did teach digital literacy and digital citizenship for a few years to middle school at my old school back in the early 2000s. We mostly dealt with cyberbullying and verifying sources. I talk with my 9th graders about cyper ethics, digital plagiarism and copyright, online reputations and colleges/careers (especially my student athletes), character education and cyperbullying, and fake news/fact checking (reliable sources). We also discuss wording and how we say things (tone on the internet and how things can be perceived).
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