These days, teens are heavily influenced by the media. Many of them have watched TV for thousands of hours. That's more time than they spend with teachers at school. And that doesn't include the hours they spend using the Internet or reading newspapers.
However, several studies have shown a serious problem: Today's teens have no media literacy (媒体素养), In other words, they have difficulty critically (批判性地) thinking about the information they see. One study has found that more than 80 percent of teens can't give a careful decision about how good or bad a piece of information is.
Professor Kevin John from Stanford University tries to help his students learn media literacy in his class. The professor gives an example that shows why media literacy is important. In the example, two news stations report a snowstorm. One cares about the terrible road conditions. The other pays attention to kids playing in the snow. "In a news story, news stations tell you about what they feel important, but the information largely depends on the opinions of the news director," said John. "A person who has media literacy would realize that each story is about one part of the event at that time."
Some people think school is the best place to teach media literacy. In fact, everyone—from parents to news reporters—should help teens learn it.
As for the best time to start learning media literacy, many experts suggest being at the age of 12. But others think it could be even earlier. "It's never too early to start learning media literacy," said John.
