Adolescents need guidance on media literacy

It is no surprise that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids are happening in Chicago, but many believe that this is not happening in the suburbs. There is a lot of information available to help better understand what Trump’s deportation efforts look like from both political sides. However, it is hard for individuals, especially adolescents, to discern what is true, what is fake and what is a politically charged mixture of both.

In my job at a child-care facility, it has become blatantly obvious that there are fundamental misunderstandings in the information many children are receiving. Because of this, there have been increased instances of bullying and stress within social interactions.

In order to combat this, it is important that adolescents are informed about how to discern politically charged content from factual content from fake content. Providing media literacy education and encouraging open conversations at home and with peers can empower young people to critically evaluate the information they encounter.

While this is a skill that must be practiced by all members of the community, it is especially important within adolescents because they have an unprecedented access to information. It is important that members of our community have access to real-life stories to humanize the political issues occurring in our back yard. Additionally, having resources readily available on understanding bias, navigating AI generated text and weeding out misinformation are paramount to a supportive and well-informed community.

Sarah Ciaglia

Roselle