October 10, 2023 // Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up to receive your own copy here.

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Redefining media literacy in the digital age

With a record number of elections looming in 2024 and AI-generated misinformation growing at record speed, a thriving democracy relies on its citizens to be media literate.

From greater polarization to the increased spread of misinformation, a lack of social media literacy can have dire consequences.

But what actually is media literacy? And how is it something we can teach young people? It turns out the term is a bit of a misnomer. In a world where 97% of US teens use the internet daily (spending an average of over eight hours a day with screen entertainment), we need a more holistic understanding of social media literacy and new approaches to redefine how we relate to social media platforms.

// Redefining social media literacy

Media literacy is often understood as the ability to differentiate between what’s true and what’s untrue in the media. Accordingly, someone is considered media literate when they can spot misinformation and determine what’s credible.

But in the age of social media, this definition is incomplete. In a paper published earlier this year by researchers at Cornell and the University of Amsterdam, they define social media literacy more broadly: from critically evaluating social media content to developing a healthy, mature relationship with it.

The researchers categorized social media literacy into six domains:

1. Media Balance: reflecting on how social media can make you feel and using social media in a positive and balanced way
2. Cyberbullying: Identifying signs of cyberbullying and practicing how to respond
3. Privacy: Learning how to positively shape digital footprints and manage privacy
4. Advertisements: Learning how to identify and cope with social media advertisements
5. News: Evaluating and responding to (fake) news on social media
6. Phishing: Learning how to identify and take action against phishing scams

This expanded definition encompasses not just the skills of literacy, but also the behaviors of how people apply those skills in today’s social media landscape: it's far more about a healthy relationship with social media than just one’s ability to determine what’s true on social media.

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Social media literacy is far more about a healthy relationship with social media than just one’s ability to determine what’s true on social media.

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// Teens & social media: it's complicated

The transition from a skills-based definition to a relationship-oriented definition raises the question of how effectively we are relating to social media platforms. For teens, that relationship is complex.

• The US Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, warned that social media can carry a “profound risk of harm” in a report issued in May.
• Dangerous peer-pressure challenges on TikTok, like the blackout challenge, have led to teen deaths.
• One meta analysis suggested that while the relationship is complex, there is a linkage between digital media’s polarization and the decline of democracy. 
• A teen’s relationship to social media is context-dependent: it can be both harmful and beneficial. Pew Research found that it can lead to stronger friendships, while other research from John Hopkins University found that teens who spend more than three hours per day on social media face heightened risk of depression and anxiety.

// Wisdom for teens, by teens

In a behavioral approach to media literacy, the internet is awash in recommendations from adults about how teens should change their relationship to social media, but teens are also sharing best practices with each other. 

The New York Times partnered with Girls Leadership, an organization that teaches how to use social media responsibly, to define the new rules of social media literacy. Girls ages 12-17 suggested the following recommendations:

• You don’t have to reply right away. Niki, 17, from Hayward, California, said she sets her phone to “do not disturb for everyone except mom” to mitigate her anxiety from all the notifications.
• Post to connect with friends, not to perform for the masses. Ella, 17, from Arizona, said, “Every time I open my phone, I don’t see perfect celebrities,” she said. “I just see my friends.”
• Bed is for dreaming, not scrolling. Almost 25% of US teens struggle with insomnia, and keeping a phone in your bedroom can make it harder to sleep, according to one UK study. Young people have found success in keeping their devices far away from their beds.

For more best practices from teens, the MediaWise Teen Fact-Checking Network (and YouTube channel) is a virtual newsroom made up of middle and high schoolers who use social media to debunk viral misinformation and share media literacy tips.

// Systems change

While individuals can try to adjust their relationship to social media, the issues stem from the business model that optimizes for constant engagement. Broader systems change is needed.

From organizations like 5Rights Foundation, the Issue One/Council for Responsible Social Media, Fairplay, and Design It For Us (an organization led and run by young people), a movement is growing to hold tech companies accountable for the algorithms that harm users.

Plus, there’s growing momentum in the policy arena:

• Enacting a minimum age: Today’s minimum age for social media use is 13, but some doctors and policymakers are arguing that 13 is too young for a child whose prefrontal cortex isn’t fully developed.
• Making the internet safer: The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) was reintroduced in the US Senate earlier this year, with bipartisan support. From addressing online bullying to curtailing predatory marketing and restricting the spread of harmful content, it aims to hold social media platforms accountable for the harms they cause.
• Detecting misinformation: In January, New Jersey became the first US state to require that students learn about how information is produced and spread on the internet, the difference between facts and opinions, and the ethics of creating and sharing information.

Europe has already passed the Digital Services Act to protect minors, and other countries are cracking down as well.

// Building a movement

As a technology and way of connecting, social media is still so new (barely 25 years old), which means the movement to advance social media literacy is just emerging. But from best practices shared between teens to resources for parents to enacting policies in states and governments around the world, that movement is growing. Stay tuned as Project Liberty announces new campaigns and partnerships in this area in the coming weeks.

Other notable headlines

// 📱 People are leaving big social media platforms for smaller online circles. It's the start of a new, healthier era of social media, according to an article in Business Insider.

// 👶 The best AI imitates children. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, random exploration is the key to early learning in both cases.

// 🛡 Trying to protect your online data? Consumer Reports' (a Project Liberty Alliance member) Permission Slip app can delete your personal history from websites in minutes, according to a feature in CNET.

// 🇬🇧 Location-enabled tech designed to make our lives easier is often exploited by domestic abusers. Refuge, a UK nonprofit, helps women to leave abusive relationships, secure their devices, and stay safe, according to an article in WIRED.

// 🎨 An article in Tech Policy Press explored the importance of centering community voices when designing new tech solutions. Involving individuals that have expertise working with at-risk communities in the design process can enable companies to address online harms in a scalable and sustainable way.

// 📹 An ACLU report finds that school surveillance tech does more harm than good, as reported in an article in The Guardian. The research shows that student safety in the US does not improve by surveillance technology.

// 🚔 An article in The Markup found that predictive policing software is terrible at predicting crimes. A software company sold a New Jersey police department an algorithm that was right less than 1% of the time.

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