Bias is all over your social feed. We need media literacy to help us navigate it. | Opinion
News literacy teaches you to slow down and notice when you have a strong emotional reaction to something you see online. It's vital for students like me.
I am a freshman in college, and I consume media constantly. If I’m not scrolling social feeds on my phone, then I’m watching a television screen or browsing websites on my laptop.
My intake is about the same as any other person my age. The average teen spends about five hours on social media alone, according to a Gallup poll. What’s different about me is how I think about all that content.
I learned news and media literacy skills in high school: how to identify media bias, think critically about the information I see, and understand the importance of looking at different sources to avoid getting trapped in an information bubble.
Now that I’m studying journalism at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, I wish everybody had these lessons before heading to college. Young people would be exposed to different points of view that could help them make better decisions. In my media wellness class this semester, I saw how my peers struggled on an assignment to evaluate media coverage for bias.
Being so online has made news literacy more critical for teens
We were asked to compare how several news outlets covered the same event. The lesson was supposed to teach us that different sources present different points of view, depending on which facts they emphasize or omit, the tone of language used and even the photographs featured. Choices about how to frame the news can persuade us to think a certain way.
I had done this exercise before – in my high school government and politics class at Cornell High School in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, a small town outside of Pittsburgh. My social studies teacher made it a priority to show us how to think critically about the news and other information.
But my college peers had never learned to analyze information this way. They are too comfortable staying in the echo chambers created by their social media feeds. They were not taught how algorithms feed them posts that just reinforce their beliefs and entice engagement with sensational content, or that many of these platforms intentionally downplay news so it might never even appear in their feeds.
Most people I know get their information about the world from short clips on TikTok or Instagram, or through notifications that pop up on their phone. They're not actively seeking out information about what’s going on around them.
A recent study by the News Literacy Project shows that learning media literacy can change this: Teens who said they were taught these skills were also more likely to seek out news.
That’s important. It helps young people grow up to be informed and to engage in civic activities, like voting. Instead, too many rely on social media platforms to filter information for them, skewing reality to look like a version that confirms their beliefs, regardless of the facts. For people my age, it seems like their worlds revolve around what’s viral on social media.
Social media can lead to real-world dangers
Some of these trends can lead to real-world dangers. I had a friend in high school who followed a TikTok trend of students posting acts of vandalism they did at their schools.
Trends like these can end in legal trouble or other harm. If more teens had news literacy skills, they would have the confidence to view viral moments and influencers differently and share what they know with peers.
News literacy teaches you to slow down and notice when you have a strong emotional reaction to something you see online. When you are constantly fed only the most extreme posts, it can distort your worldview and trick you into assuming everyone thinks and acts the same way.
Or, in my friend’s case, it can encourage risky behavior.
Learning how to think critically about the hours and hours of content that I am consuming prepared me for college and for the real world. It has impacted my life for the better.
This week is National News Literacy Week, which focuses on the importance of teaching students how to analyze information and find credible sources in our media-saturated world. There is a movement growing across the country to make sure that students learn these skills before they graduate high school.
For example, states like New Jersey and Texas have passed legislation to make news and media literacy a requirement.
More states should take this approach to help young people like me grow up to become thoughtful and responsible about the world we experience online.
Neveah Rice is a freshman studying journalism at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She was the recipient of the 2024 student Change-Maker award from the News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan nonprofit.
Paste BN is a presenting partner in National News Literacy Week along with the News Literacy Project and E.W. Scripps.