Media literacy – needs and challenges in the education of youth

Lila Karanfilovska

Abstract

Human progress has ushered in the digital age, an era in which we must all learn to navigate rationally. We swim in a sea of information that reaches us every single day. From birth, we enter the media ether. In this digital era, everyone can publish, making it increasingly difficult to find the truth without proper education. Never before have young people interacted with media in this way. Therefore, if they are already in a situation where they spend so much time consuming media and receiving information from it, they must understand how media works, how it impacts their lives, and how to create media content correctly and effectively. It is especially important to raise children’s awareness of the types of information, how to differentiate between them, how information travels, and the effects media have on their lives. They need to be trained to think critically and make rational decisions, because they themselves are a medium. Today, a variety of entertainment, informational, and educational content blends images, videos, words, and sounds. From an early age, children need skills to help them understand, evaluate, and use these messages. Critical thinking is the most important skill for becoming media literate, and it is a prerequisite for making sound decisions in all spheres of social life. Therefore, as teachers, we face a tremendous challenge: to train students, through playful activities and problem-solving situations, to use media safely and successfully adapt to the digital age, because they are the driving force behind our country’s progress.

Keywords: media, news, information, youth, social media, fake news, internet