At least half of U.S. states have laws now that advance media literacy education – with 11 states enacting new legislation since January 2024, according to Media Literacy Now, a nonprofit organization, and reported by Education Week.
This push for media literacy education is fueled by artificial intelligence tools increasingly being used to create fake stories and images.
“Schools are getting bombarded by… all these different devices, by kids coming in with cellphones, by social media,” when for years they’ve focused on “reading, writing, basics,” says Kyra Brissette, the CEO of Media Literacy Now. “We need to think a little bit differently about how we’re educating students. That’s why those critical thinking skills of media literacy really would be helpful across subject areas.”
At least 33 states and the District of Columbia restrict student cellphone use in schools. Several states—including Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee—have linked limitations on cellphone use with a mandate to provide media literacy education, according to the report.
Media Literacy Now believes understanding how to make sense of digital content needs to be central to any overall K-12 technology strategy.
Faith Rogow, an independent scholar and author of Media Literacy for Young Children: Teaching Beyond the Screen Time Debates, agrees that if districts are going to ban devices, they should pair restrictions with media literacy education.
If you’re getting rid of phones but “not also teaching media literacy, you are not preparing your students to succeed in the digital world,” where students spend most of their reading time, she says.
Other laws enacted last year require expanding or creating media literacy curricula.
Districts in Georgia must incorporate digital citizenship and instruction on appropriate use of technology and social media into the state’s character education program.
North Carolina schools must deliver media literacy lessons to protect students from cyberbullying and predatory behavior.
Tennessee’s “Teen Social Media and Internet Safety Act” requires the state’s education department to develop social media and digital safety curricula for students in grades 6-12. The negative impact of social media on student mental health and how to evaluate AI-generated information are mandatory lessons.
Brisette believes that media literacy doesn’t have to be a standalone class. “Teaching media literacy doesn’t mean you’re adding more to somebody’s plate,” she says. “It can be embedded across all different subject areas and into the existing curriculum.”
Education Week
