Mary Pat Gallagher, Adjunct Professor at Webster University, Librarian at Immacolata School
Raising Media Savvy Kids by Mary Pat Gallagher, M.A.
“On a typical day, 8- to 18-year-olds in this country spend more than 71⁄2 hours (7:38) using media—almost the equivalent of a full work day, except that they are using media seven days a week instead of five. Moreover, since young people spend so much of that time using two or more media concurrently, they are actually exposed to more than 101⁄2 hours (10:45) of media content during that period. And this does not include time spent using the computer for schoolwork, or time spent texting or talking on a cell phone.
The sheer amount of time young people spend using media –an average of nearly 7 ½ hours a day—makes it plain that the potential of media to impact virtually every aspect of young people’s lives cannot be ignored.” -Kaiser Family Foundation (www.kff.org).
Raising children has never been an easy task. Simply ask any seasoned parent or grandparent you know. While there is tremendous joy and fabulous fun to be had raising children, parenthood is a tremendous responsibility full of unique challenges, especially in our digital world. Today adults and children alike are surrounded by mass media messages 24/7. We all interact with electronic media at a rate unlike any previous generation. Is living during this period of digital evolution impacting us? Our children? How so? What are the long-lasting effects? One fact has become very evident; children today consume tremendous amounts of electronic media. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s 2010 report, Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds, in the U.S. today “Eight- to eighteen-year-olds spend more time with media than in any other activity besides (maybe) sleeping—an average of more than 71⁄2 hours a day, seven days a week (http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/8010.pdf).”
Yes, you read that correctly! Your offspring are spending more time with electronic screens than they are spending with you or the family pet, riding bikes with friends, or even attending school! Our future generation is watching their favorite TV programs on their laptops and iPhones, and reading books and surfing the net on their Kindles and Nooks. These types of technology did not exist when we were young, nor were there the variety of platform choices available. I am not passing judgment here, simply stating facts. And wondering…
Never before in our nation’s history has this rate of media exposure, consumption, and media multitasking occurred. And never before has media literacy education been so critically needed for our children’s optimal growth and development.
What is media literacy education you ask? Let me begin by stating what media literacy education is not: it is not media bashing nor is totally abstaining from all sources of mass media broadcasts or content. Nor is it promoting the beliefs that all mainstream media are controlled solely by boards of directors driven by corporate greed, or that only independent media sources and bloggers are to be trusted to proclaim the truth.
Media literacy education, at its core, is the process of educating the public to reflect critically and in-depth about the media messages they receive, and to consider the production methods and motives media producers use. Media literacy education encourages the public to ask questions of their media sources. It teaches media consumers to be both open-minded and discerning. It encourages us not to believe everything we hear or see in the media. It teaches us to check the credibility of our media sources, and to seek multiple opinions before we reach a conclusion.
I believe the time is ideal, especially given the amount of time our children 8-18 years spend involved with media, to teach primary and elementary children media literacy skills. These tools will help them successfully navigate their digital world. My hope is that parents, teachers, and school administrators will work together to have media literacy education added to our schools’ curricula. Teaching media literacy skills to children today, during their formative years, will help them become savvy media consumers and producers tomorrow.
Tips for Raising Happy, Healthy & Media Savvy Kids
1) Eat meals together as a family when possible. Teach children to make healthy food choices by modeling healthy eating. Involve children in meal preparation.
2) Provide a print rich environment in your home. Read aloud as a family, especially to your younger children. Promote independent reading when the time is right. Visit the library often! Get children their own library card.
3) Encourage your children to know what is going on in their community and in the larger world. Discuss school, community, and national events. Model reading a traditional newspaper or online news. Our world needs informed and engaged citizens!
New York Times Online St. Louis Beacon
4) Computers should be used/kept in communal living areas such as the family room or study. TVs and computers should not be put in young children’s bedrooms. Watch TV with your kids!
5) Unplug and enjoy the outdoors! Visit Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, MO
Take a walk or a bike ride and talk with your kids. Find out what is on their minds.
6) Check out the information and resources on the Gateway Media Literacy Partners website.
Mary Pat Gallagher, M.A. is a 24-year career educator, having taught in a wide variety of academic settings in the St. Louis area. She currently is an adjunct professor at Webster University in the School of Communications and the librarian at Immacolata School where she is so very lucky to “bring stories to life,” and promote critical thinking and healthy media usage with her students.
Gallagher and her husband live in University City, MO. She is the mother of five and “Lolly” of four. She is a photographer and enjoys photographing her family and the great outdoors! Gallagher’s dream is that very soon media literacy education will be an essential component in early childhood and elementary curricula throughout the state of Missouri. Gallagher serves on the GMLP board of directors and is co-chair of its Education Outreach Committee.
