Oct. 20 - Oct. 29, 2021 EDITOR: Aaliyah Alexander • opinion@thedailyaztec.com
Opinion
The Daily Aztec
3
Media literacy is Gap years: the holy essential for Gen Z grail to self-discovery By Willem Quigley
By Lindsey Anderson
CONTRIBUTOR
CONTRIBUTOR
In the wake of former Facebook employee and federal whistleblower Frances Haugen’s revelations about the social media’s algorithms on CBS’ “60 Minutes” and subsequent testimony to the Senate Commerce subcommittee on consumer protection, the importance of media literacy on the internet has been underscored. Company documents brought forward by Haguen indicate how Facebook knowingly exposes its users to misinformation but doesn’t use the tools it has at its disposal to stop them. In an increasingly polarized and chaotic media environment, students must be adequately prepared to discern fact from fiction when consuming news, especially on the internet. Despite the mainstream narrative that journalism is on the decline, digital circulation numbers have risen sharply in recent years, according to a report from the Pew Research Center. Although it is well known that the circulation of paper copy editions of newspapers is on the decline, these changes simply reflect a transition from the traditional newspaper format to a more dynamic, digital format. Gathering news from a host of internet sources is nothing new for college students my age as apps like Instagram and Twitter have been beacons of online information since the early 2010s. According to a Pew Research survey, 86% of Americans say they receive news from the internet often. Aerospace Engineering junior Connor Quinn stated he gathers all his news from Snapchat simply out of ease and convenience. Never before has such a wealth of information been so readily available. The challenge presented for both media outlets and consumers alike is distinguishing between objective truths and deceptive misinformation, which has become an epidemic online. As for current scholars and future leaders, it is imperative that students today are competent in seeking and attaining the truth to better understand the world. In an interview with CBS’ Scott Pelley, Haguen said “[Facebook] knows it’s accelerating hate, political unrest, misinformation, mental health harms and other problems, but has failed to fix them if it means hampering its own growth.” Facebook and other social media agencies have no obligation to the truth, as it has been discovered that divisive dialogue between users drives engagement. Online division sowed by bad actors is not a new concept. It has been well documented how online trolls influenced specific voting blocs with mal-information on Facebook leading up to the 2016 election. Misinformation, internet trolls and flawed algorithms will not disappear overnight — as we know social media firms profit off of vitriolic and controversial content — which means students must be prepared to filter through the slog of online information to find transparent and objective journalism. According to the Harvard Graduate School of Education, college students have a broader definition of news, meaning they consider YouTube videos, comedy sketches, political memes and Reddit threads to be accurate sources of information. With a larger pool of information available to students than other parts of the population, it is even more critical that students can
My freshman year at San Diego State kicked off in August 2018. By September 2019, I had already changed my major three times — accounting for roughly 30 units that will never be factored into my graduation. This is equivalent to an entire year of study that simply won’t count. At the time, I didn’t mind frequent changes to my focus of study. If anything, it served as a sense of newness to a monotonous schedule of semesterly coursework. Yet, as a senior in my final weeks at SDSU, I don’t look back on those degree fluctuations with fondness. My inability to pursue a major was not representative of a curious-minded individual seeking breadth of knowledge. Rather, it was indicative of an individual who lacked clear vision for future pursuits. My educational goals remained unclear until November 2020 when I moved to the East coast with the freedom of online school. There, I lived in Northern Vermont, working as a lift operator at a ski resort and writing poetry for fun. I was introduced to a whole new culture — a world that existed so peacefully outside of the mainstream — and was immersed in a nomadic crowd of adventurers and creatives who traveled in search of the true meaning in their lives. The previous year I had declared a major in rhetoric and writing studies that was, at the time, just as transient as those that came before it. But the realizations born out of my life experiences in Vermont eradicated any hesitations about pursuing a degree in writing. Had this experience materialized sooner, my focus of study would have been much clearer from the get-go — saving myself and my family thousands of dollars on 30 units of tuition that now, aren’t worth a dime. The beauty in online school was that I was presented with these opportunities to travel and live in places previously
Graphic by Hemen Mesfin
Fake news is common, making literacy vital.
discern what is truthful online. There are numerous strategies students should take when evaluating their social media feeds for news and information. According to digital content creator Grace Tatter, “as students consume information, they need to be thinking about how they’re going to cross-reference it with other sources, asking themselves what context is missing, and evaluating the source.” In today’s media environment, everything should be examined skeptically. Essentially, analyzing the news critically requires constant questioning. The University of Minnesota library gathered opinions from media literacy professionals and outlined the following questions to ask when consuming media: Who created the message? What are the author’s credentials? Why was the message created? How do I know this information is accurate? Who is the intended audience? Media content is omnipresent, which is why students must be constantly prepared to critically examine what they read or watch online. This includes fact checking headlines, examining the background and credentials of the media firm or reporter, and reading more than one article about the same issue. Media literacy allows students to sort through the Internet’s cloud of data, locate reliable sources and identify bias and unreliable sources. As noted in the book “Understanding Media Culture,” mass-communication messages are developed by individuals, and each individual has his or her own set of values, assumptions and opinions. Accepting media messages at face value can lead to confusion because of all the contradictory information available. We have the tools to seek trustworthy and credible information and in our digitized world, it is imperative we use them. It is our responsibility to seek the truth, now more than ever. Willem Quigley is a junior studying journalism. Follow him on Twitter @ willquigz11.
unknown to me — experiences one only tends to have when taking time off from school. For me, online learning was the gap year I never decided to take, and trust me when I say I wish I would have done it sooner. Frequent degree changes similar to my own are commonplace amongst a majority of American college students. Between 50 and 75 percent of American students enter college undecided or change their major at least once. Most American college students enter higher education with minimal life experiences and a lack of self-awareness, both of which are leading causes of confusion in educational pursuits. Taking a year or two off from school — whether it be after high school or during college — allows students to explore themselves beyond the classroom. A growing sense of purpose and a newly acquired self-awareness cultivates an inspiring environment for students to create an exciting future for themselves. It is then that these discoveries can be translated into the classroom where the students’ education can be effectively applied to their desired path — keeping many students motivated and on track to graduate with few wasted units. This newfound intent and passion in one’s studies is one of the key components that can make a gap year so impactful for students. So, for those of you who may be struggling with your vision or the intention in your studies, allow yourself the time and space to explore the possibilities of what it could become. Take some time off for self-exploration: work odd jobs, take up a new hobby and meet the people you’ve been dying to know; dive into the ideas you’ve always been curious about and dissect the questions that keep you up at night — exploring them until you find their answers. Through these experiences, you’ll discover the ideas that make you tick — surprising you and inspiring you to fight your path forward. It may be uncomfortable for some to delay college graduation beyond the four-year mark, but what you’ll take away from this adventurous chapter are the experiences unattainable within the classroom. So take the chance, seize the gap year and watch your true life unfold. Lindsey Anderson is a senior studying rhetoric and writing.
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