The Need for Digital Literacy in Democracy Pt.1

Media literacy is important to democracy in much the same way that literacy is fundamental to democracy.  Citizens must be educated and literate enough to take in and process information with common sense– resulting in informed decisions related to elections and policy that are optimal for the Common Good.  

However, the rise of Social Media and Artificial Intelligence has empowered some self-serving power-mongers to propagate misinformation to further their own agendas at the expense of democracy.   The lines of journalism and commentary are increasingly blurred; fake news and biased reporting are becoming the norm. So, when the facts themselves become manipulated, mere “literacy” is no longer enough. To make well-informed decisions, constituents of a properly functioning democracy will need to discern fact from fiction. Citizens will need the means to become “media literate” as well.  

Revealing the lack of digital literacy education in our country, a survey by Media Literacy Now reports that only 38% of respondents learned to analyze the effects of media messaging. The solution: a media literacy class graduation requirement for high school students, which would teach students about spotting fake news and sourcing credible news. A media literate society would alleviate the threat to our democracy that is fake news and digital editorialization.