Television is one of the most prevalent media influences in kids' lives. According to the 2011 Active Healthy Kids Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, Canadian youth ages 6-19 average about six hours of screen time per day, with TV programs (watched on a variety of different screens) accounting for much of this time. [1]
One of the most common ethical decisions kids face online relates to how they access and use content like music, games and videos. We can help kids make better choices by teaching them about the issue: in one study, one-quarter of young people said that they would stop accessing content illegally if it was more clear what was legal and what wasn’t.
The following is reproduced from the document Curriculum Framework for English as an Additional Language (EAL) and Literacy, Academics and Language (LAL) Programming (2011):
Outcome Chart - Nova Scotia - Health Education Grade 8
This outcome chart contains media-related learning outcomes from the British Columbia, Level 3, Literacy Foundations, English Language Arts curriculum, with links to supporting resources on the MediaSmarts site.
Ottawa, ON – In the wake of the April 10 release of UNICEF’s Child Well-Being in Rich Countries study, Canada’s leading digital literacy organization MediaSmarts is calling for more education to address bullying, both online and off.
Overall, Canada ranks number 17 of 29 wealthy countries in the study; however, where children’s views of their own life satisfaction are measured, Canada falls to the bottom third.
Learn more about how we practice integrity in all our work, including research projects, educational content and knowledge mobilization efforts.
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.
Remember the house hippo? The beloved mini creature who lived in Canadian homes? Or at least, that’s what we were told years ago as part of a Concerned Children's Advertisers campaign to help kids think critically about what they were seeing on TV.
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 report highlights findings related to how often youth come across harmful and discomforting content, including racist and sexist content and pornography, in which online spaces they most often see it, and how they tend to respond to it.