Question: How do I teach my teen media literacy?
Answer: Teaching teens media literacy isn't really difficult. You can use all of the advertising you're being bombarded with daily for an effective tool. Try this: the next time you sit down to watch television with your teen really take a look at the message behind the ads. Ask your teen if he/she can see what the ad is trying to say and what the underlying messages might be. How does the ad make your teen feel about himself/herself? Try it again when your in the car with your teen - and your younger children too.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers these questions to help dissect advertising and learn media literacy:
- Who’s behind it? Who is responsible for this song, commercial, television show, or movie? What is their motivation — to amuse, entertain, persuade? Why did they choose to make it this way?
- Who’s in front of it? To whom is this message directed? Young people or old people? Males or females? How can you tell? What clues does it give you? Does this message rely on stereotypes about different groups of people?
- What do they want from you? How does this song, movie, television show, or commercial make you feel? Is this on purpose? Why would strangers want to make you feel this way? What might they get out of it? What’s being left out?
