Why Media Literacy is More Essential Than Ever in Today’s Classrooms
In a world where the average American consumes over 13 hours of media daily, media literacy is essential. For educators, equipping students with media literacy skills means helping them understand not only what messages they receive, but how and why those messages are constructed, and with so many misinformation on the Internet, its more important than ever. As JCasaTodd notes in Social LEADia, students must learn to discern how a message changes depending on its format—be it a tweet, infographic, or blog post (Casa-Todd). This nuance matters more than ever as young people consume media across multiple platforms, often without questioning its origin or intention.
One of the most influential frameworks for understanding this evolving media environment comes from Renee Hobbs, who outlines five core competencies of media literacy: Access, Analyze, Create, Reflect, and Act. While each competency plays a role, I argue that Analyze and Reflect are particularly crucial. In an age of misinformation, the ability to analyze a message for bias, source credibility, and underlying purpose can make the difference between being informed and being misled. Reflection then allows students to interrogate their own consumption habits and media impact.
At the same time, Howard Rheingold’s 2010 article on social media literacies remains highly relevant. His five literacies—Attention, Participation, Collaboration, Network Awareness, and Critical Consumption—speak directly to today’s digitally immersed learners. Though written before the TikTok boom or the rise of AI-generated misinformation, Rheingold’s emphasis on critical consumption resonates deeply. Students scrolling through social media need to ask: Who made this? Why? Is it credible? That kind of questioning doesn't come naturally—it must be taught.
These ideas also tie back to Marshall McLuhan’s memorable phrase: “The medium is the message.” McLuhan’s insight was that the form of media—not just its content—shapes how we understand the world. Take, for example, the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon debate. Television viewers thought Kennedy won; radio listeners thought Nixon did. Same content, different medium, different perception. Today, a TikTok video might frame historical facts as entertainment, while a podcast might present them as an academic discussion. Both can be valid—but students must learn to recognize how the format alters the tone, credibility, and emotional impact of the message.
Image Source: Purdue University
Students are taught to use the CRAAP test (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose) to evaluate sources, and we actively discuss how the delivery platform affects the message. We even analyze real-time social media posts to assess bias, tone, and source credibility.
Source image: The University of Chicago
Ultimately, all of Hobbs’ and Rheingold’s competencies matter, because no single skill alone is enough. In a world of memes, misinformation, and 280-character headlines, media literacy is a survival skill to avoid manipulation by bad actors online.
Works Cited:
Casa-Todd, Jennifer. Social LEADia: Moving Students from Digital Citizenship to Digital Leadership. EdTechTeam Press, 2017.
Hobbs, Renee. “Five Key Questions and Core Concepts of Media Literacy.” Media Literacy Now, https://medialiteracynow.org/the-five-key-questions-and-core-concepts-of-media-literacy/.
Rheingold, Howard. “Attention, and Other 21st Century Social Media Literacies.” Educause Review, 2010, https://er.educause.edu/articles/2010/3/attention-and-other-21stcentury-social-media-literacies.
Lisciandrello, Jeff. “Why ‘The Medium Is the Message’ Is More Relevant Than Ever.” Room to Discover, https://roomtodiscover.com/medium-is-the-message/.
McCulloch, Gretchen. Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language. Riverhead Books, 2019.
Hi Isaac! It’s crazy to think that we consume over 13 hours of media a day even though I say this while reading your blog post and listening to music in another tab. I agree with you that the how and why questions are the most important when it comes to teaching the next generation to be not just media literate, but media savvy. It ties in nicely with your emphasis on Hobb’s analyze and Rheingold’s critical consumption competencies as well as how the medium affects the impact of the message. For me, McLuhan’s “The Medium is the Message” reminds me of the song, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles. Your comparison of the entertaining news video versus the academic podcast discussion on the same topic is more apt.
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