Parents of the Future: Why We Need Media Literacy

While browsing the Web the other night, I stumbled upon a media literacy test on PBS’s website. As a 21 year old in 2008 I consider myself relatively media literate, so I took the test confidently. I’m almost done with my mass communications class, so I basically know what there is to know about being media literate.

A score of 6 out of 15 was a rude awakening. I pride myself in not believing everything I see on television and having an accurate knowledge of the media in general. After licking my wounds from my hurt ego, I began to think that maybe I’m not as up to speed as I should be. I obviously have more to learn about the world than I thought, and when I do get some spare time, maybe I should brush up on my media literate skills. I didn’t see the rush to start learning more about the media immediately, though.

I browsed through the correct answers to the majority of the questions that I missed and I was disturbed to learn that 68% of American children between the ages of 8 and 18 have television sets in their rooms. Also according to PBS, it is estimated that children view 40,000 television advertisements on average annually. These two statistics were just eye openers to the rest of the information.

While I am nowhere near the point of bringing children into the world, I do want my children to be independent thinkers that do not rely solely on the media for information. I want my kids to answer all 15 of the questions on this test correctly. As a firm believer in the theory that good parenting skills trump all, I began thinking that future parents are the most in need of being media literate. Children can only be media literate if their parents are, and if their parents relay their knowledge.

It is easy to find help becoming more media literate online. Many people, like Dr. Peter DeBenedittis actually have websites offering information about media literacy. The University of Michigan offers information about why media literacy is so important for children. According to the website, it is important not that children spend less time with media necessarily, but rather that they know how to learn how to read and understand media. The website offers ways for parents to explain issues and media to their children.

Even scientific research has started to explore the importance of media literacy for children. The University of Florida's Family, Youth and Community Services has gathered information and states that children between the ages of 8 and 13 use the most media, in particularly television. The same study mentions a list of tips for parents to use concerning their children’s media intake and message interpreting.

While it may seem that children in the preteen and teenaged years are the most in need of media literacy, it is unfair to condemn them to being responsible for interpreting media. Rather, parents and more importantly, future parents are the most in need of media literacy. If people my age begin to become more media literate now, when we have children of our own, hopefully we can train them to be media literate, as well. With more educated and aware parents, it can only be deduced that children will stand a better chance of being media literate, too. Future parents cannot assume we know everything about media, especially if we plan on raising children that are as smart, and hopefully smarter than we are.