By Lucca Lorenzi, guest author

The National Center for Biotechnology Information defines social media literacy as having “knowledge and development of skills to analyze, evaluate, produce, and participate in social media, which favors critical thinking.”

With millions of users on social media platforms across multiple generations, you’d expect that its common use would warrant school curriculum to help upcoming generations navigate online credibility, understand the difference between misinformation and disinformation, and develop an awareness of the effects of social media on their memory and emotions (a neurobiological perspective). Unfortunately, California schools have been moving slowly on this crucial issue.

In countries such as Finland, England and France, media curricula have already been introduced into primary, secondary and university levels of schooling. 

“In Finland, primary and secondary school curricula have been developed to train students in the examination and interpretation of messages from the mass media, to encourage critical analysis of such messages, and to teach students how to develop their own independent opinions about messages transmitted in mass media,” according to the Center for Media Literacy.

In contrast, one of the United States’ most vulnerable fronts is its digital front. In a 2020 study titled “Teens and News,” conducted by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit focused on youth and media, one of the notable findings stated that “YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat are growing as top news sources for kids.”

Moreover, according to the Center for Media Literacy, “The United States lags sadly behind these countries in media awareness education and literacy. There is no national program or curriculum here on media studies at the primary, secondary or college level. There are a few universities in the country which offer media studies degrees. They are mainly focused, however, on the technology of communications — teaching students how to produce films, newscasts, entertainment. Unless a U.S. student decides to major in mass communication in college, it is likely that she will go through her entire school (and later adult) career without so much as a mention of critical viewing skills or media analysis.”

For nearly a decade, California schools have had a “paperless” curriculum and have provided students with computers. Yet, what is most baffling is that no curriculum was established to help students understand digital literacy and social media literacy. Now, halfway through 2023, and California is still navigating what a media literacy curriculum should look like for its schools.

In June 2023, two California Assembly bills that would incorporate media literacy into schools’ education were introduced into the Legislature. 

Assembly Bill 873, authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, would command the state’s Instructional Quality Commission to integrate media literacy into K-12 curriculum in the subjects of English language arts, science, math, history and social studies. The intended goal would ensure that all public school students would receive media literacy lessons throughout every grade in each of their courses. The bill is currently in the Senate Education Committee after passing unanimously in the Assembly.

Assembly Bill 787, by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, D-Woodland Hills, would require State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond to survey schools to determine the current state of media literacy education in California. From this evaluation, it would then require a model program to be developed and implemented statewide.

In an article by EdSource, Kami Peer, California policy manager at Common Sense Media, states, “We believe these two bills, if signed into law, would bring California to the forefront of this important policy area and ensure our students are well-equipped to face the rapidly evolving digital, online landscape.”

This is not the state’s first attempt at introducing media literacy into public school education. In 2018, California passed Senate Bill 830, which provided optional media literacy guidelines and emphasized teaching about online privacy and safety, conducting online research and other internet use related topics. 

If California were to make media literacy education mandatory, it would join the league of only a few states in the nation – New Jersey, Delaware and Texas – whose lessons require a media literacy curriculum be integrated into students’ education.

In March, 2023, the Fresno State Institute for Media and Public Trust held its first “Your Brain on Social Media” workshop in the Fresno community. The goal of the workshop was to spread awareness about media literacy education, and specifically speak to the neurobiological impacts of interacting with social media. The state’s current focus on integrating media literacy into K-12 curriculum is encouraging and aligns with the institute’s previous media literacy initiatives in the Fresno community. 

As a recent graduate with a degree in Media, Communications and Journalism, I can’t help but wonder why our state and federal government haven’t treated this subject with more immediacy. I also belong to Generation Z, and my peers and I have grown up alongside the rapid advancements of the mobile technology industry. Growing up, I was taught to evaluate a source’s credibility based on whether or not it had an author, if it had a publisher and the recency with which it had been published. Now, this is no longer enough to affirm a source’s credibility, especially within the digital world. Students need to be taught how to further evaluate a source and think critically about the context of their media interactions. 

While it is important that the conversation of media literacy is gaining momentum and legislative support, it is disappointing that it has taken up until now for it to occur. Generations of students have already been left behind with inadequate media literacy skills in a world saturated with digital technology. Ideally, these bills will ensure that further generations will not be left behind with inabilities to navigate the growing digital world.

Would you like to read more about this subject? Preview our previous article about Social Media Literacy titled, “Media Literacy, Trust and Credibility: In this digital age, media literacy is crucial to a functioning democracy. So why isn’t it a higher priority in our schools?” 

This commentary was written by Lucca Lorenzi, a 2023 Fresno State graduate and the Dean’s Medalist for the College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State. Lucca is working this summer as an assistant for the Institute for Media and Public Trust.

The article’s featured image was provided by Compare Fibre on Unsplash.