In the last decade, a new world of misinformation, marketing, propaganda, and fake news has become part and parcel of our increasingly digital world. Like schools, parents have a big role to play in helping kids navigate this world.
The resources at MisinfoDay, the annual media literacy event for students and educators, are a good place to start. The event is co-hosted by the University of Washington (UW) Center for an Informed Public and Washington State University (WSU) Edward R. Murrow College of Communication.
We asked MisinfoDay leaders to share their thoughts on how parents can help hone media literacy skills at home. Professor Jevin West is the co-founder of the UW Center for an Informed Public. Professor Katie Davis is co-director of UW Digital Youth Lab. Caroline Pitt is a post-doctoral scholar and manager of the UW’s KidsTeam.
“The goal isn’t to raise skeptics who distrust everything,” Davis says. “It’s to raise thoughtful, engaged young people who can participate meaningfully in their world. What matters is how we guide children to use [technology] critically, creatively, and with a sense of purpose.”
Why do parents need to participate in teaching media literacy?
Katie Davis: Kids are much more likely to internalize important messages — such as how to tell fact from fiction — when they hear them from multiple trusted sources and in a variety of everyday contexts. Parents bring something uniquely powerful to the table: they know their children best. They can tailor conversations to their child’s prior knowledge, interests, and lived experiences. In earlier years, children are constantly observing how the adults engage with the world. They watch not only what we say about media but how we use it — how we scroll, respond to headlines, whether we pause to question. Modeling thoughtful engagement with digital content [helps] to build habits of mind kids will carry with them.
How do you help your own kids navigate fact from fiction?
Jevin West: I am learning every day as a researcher and as a parent. There are a few principles that I regularly turn to: First, ask [kids] about their sources. Ask them: Who told you this? What makes them an expert? What do they have to gain from it? I want my kids to spend as much time, if not more, considering the source than trying to parse the validity of a claim. Second, encourage kids to read laterally. If my kids run into a claim about an erupting volcano with blue lava, I want them to immediately move from that tab laterally in their web browser and see if others are reporting on blue lava. If other major news outlets are not reporting it, [it’s likely] a false claim. Third, find opportunities to teach how the internet works and the role of attention-grabbing algorithms. Making them aware of the addictive qualities of the internet can be a useful way for them to reflect and be attuned to falsehoods spread online.
Katie Davis: With my 8-year-old son, my main goal is to help him see that digital tools such as Google, Alexa, and ChatGPT aren’t all- knowing or all-powerful. I try to break that illusion by wondering aloud where the information is coming from and how it compares to what we already know or believe. I also look for age-appropriate ways to introduce the idea that the content we see online isn’t random — it’s curated, often based on what grabs the most attention. We look at views, likes, and comments together and talk about how those features can influence what rises to the top of a search or feed — not because it’s true, but because it’s popular or provocative.
