Canada’s 17th annual Media Literacy Week starts today and it’s an opportunity to put the spotlight on digital media literacy, and how essential it is that we all know how to use, understand and engage with the digital media we use every day.
Parents, you may be aware that Media Literacy Week is October 24-28 and Digital Citizen Day is October 26, but we should talk about digital media literacy all year round. We are raising kids who are going to be so much better at using media for (hopefully) good; for their education, careers, community giving and passions. It’s moving quickly and we are trying to keep up.
Young Canadians in a Wireless World (YCWW) is Canada’s longest-running and most comprehensive research study on young people’s attitudes, behaviours and opinions regarding the internet, technology and digital media. The study is currently in its fourth phase, and Life Online is the first in a series of reports that summarize the findings from the survey. This first report – Life Online – provides a glimpse into the online lives of young Canadians and highlights findings related to device use, online activities, screen time, technology in the classroom, household rules, and how young people feel about unplugging and going offline occasionally.
Young Canadians in a Wireless World (YCWW) is Canada’s longest-running and most comprehensive research study on young people’s attitudes, behaviours and opinions regarding the internet, technology and digital media. This extended research methods report offers a deeper dive into the decisions and processes undertaken by the MediaSmarts research team during Phase IV of YCWW. The various pivots and adaptations taken during this phase deserve elaboration and will be of interest to other researchers who have made, and continue to make, shifts in their work due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ottawa, ON - November 3, 2022 - New research conducted during the pandemic by MediaSmarts found that close to nine in 10 Canadian youth (86%) ages nine to 11 have an account on at least one platform that requires users to be 13 or older, and almost half of young people are worried they spend too much time online.
Looking for creative ways to integrate digital media literacy activities into your teaching practice? We've developed this calendar of special awareness days for educators to easily pinpoint opportunities to explore a variety of digital media issues while recognizing commemorative events throughout the school year. We've linked each awareness day to a list of free K-12 lesson plans, tip sheets and more teaching resources.
‘Tis the season for festive viewing. At least in our home it is as we plan to celebrate Christmas and that means a lot of holiday movies and shows to watch! Yes, even as the kids have gotten older, this is one tradition that no one outgrows, at least in our home.
New research conducted during the pandemic by MediaSmarts found almost half of Canadian youth (47%) ages 12 to 17 see racist or sexist content online at least once a week. These findings are shared in MediaSmarts’ new Encountering Harmful and Discomforting Content Online report, which is the second in a series of reports in the latest phase of Young Canadians in a Wireless World, a national survey of 1,058 youth ages 9 to 17 conducted in Autumn 2021.
