Digital literacy is an incredibly important thing in this day and age due to how much time we spend on the internet in this day and age.
Digital literacy is one’s ability to find, evaluate, and communicate different pieces of online media, primarily on social media.
So many people spend so much time on the internet, yet are unable to understand half of the information that they are taking in or understanding if the information is true, false or even partially true. Lots of the internet is made up of “fake news”, and many people are unable to tell when something is fake. Fake news is misleading or false information being spread about a topic, and this information can often be damaging to who or what it is about.
Growing up, many people did not need these skills as the kids and teens nowadays need them, as we hadn’t grown up so on the internet as they had. Many of us had grown up on Webkinz or Club Penguin and had been. 11/12/13 when we had first properly gotten into social media and looking online at different articles, but instead it has changed to be about 7/8/9 when kids are first getting invested into social media.
Easy examples of fake news is of a picture of Taylor Swift eating ice cream in Africa (this image had been photoshopped) or of celebrity deaths when they haven’t actually happened.
Teachers do need to teach about fake news and critical thinking in the classroom due to the high rise of misinformation and AIs.
AIs, while interesting and helpful in some situations, can often make fake news seem more real. Looking at the Taylor Swift imagine, it does look pretty convincing, but by understanding who she is as an artist and knowing that she had been on North American leg of the Eras Tour at the time that this picture had supposedly been taken. AIs can not only be used to make pictures, but also news articles and other types of written media.
Teaching children and teens about digital literacy and critical thinking when looking at the internet (and in general) is a critical (lol) skill that they will use in their everyday lives. The Government of Canada has many resources that are available to teachers, and there are even more resources that can be found online from other sites and teachers.
Digital Literacy
Digital Literacy
https://www.unicef.org/globalinsight/documents/digital-literacy-children-10-things-know
