The Hill
As misinformation and disinformation have inundated the internet on topics ranging from the current conflict in Ukraine to COVID-19, advocates are pushing to have media literacy taught in schools. That’s a process of critically assessing information found on the internet, which experts argue is becoming increasingly essential to the well-being and full participation in economic and civic life.  

There are many advocacy groups dedicated to pushing media literacy, citing research that children aged 8 to 18 spend an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes per day with media outside of school. At the same time, most schools don’t teach children how to use media thoughtfully and apply critical thinking skills to the onslaught of content available on a slew of different devices.  

A 2016 study by Stanford University’s History Education Group found that across middle school, high school and college students, “young people’s ability to reason about the information on the internet can be summed up in one word: bleak.” 

That’s despite those young people being considered “digital natives,” able to seamlessly toggle between Facebook and Twitter while also texting a friend. However, Sam Wineburg, professor of education and history at Stanford and one of the lead authors of the study, told Changing America that the biggest problem facing Americans is, “using skills that were developed in an analog age to understand a digital medium.” 
MORE