Digital Literacy for K-12 students

The importance of increasing the digital literacy of our K-12 students cannot be over-stated. Manipulated images, meta-messages, agenda-driven social networking sites, and transverse media--these are only a few of the things which the internet can offer to an unprepared young mind. One of the most endearing and yet dangerous of childish traits is that often children believe what adults tell them. Media is too powerful a tool to not teach our societies' youngest generation to critically evaluate the interactions and experiences available online.

Parental awareness and education is critical
Digital literacy has become a basic component of our society, and like other basic components, such as hygiene, basic courtesy, and values, public schools can supplement but not replace the role of adult guidance and education at home. Teaching the young consumer to be an aware netizen should begin before the  first time they sit in front of an internet portal.

The special danger of pornography for adolescents
The importance of sex education as a component of basic education and how to relate to the opposite gender in sexual and non-sexual ways is a critical component of the kind of digital literacy that needs to begin at home and be reinforced as a part of public  education. Research shows that a generation of young people have had their perceptions of sex shaped by internet pornography, and casual hook-ups and behavior once considered the kinkier edge of sex have become commonly explored at a much younger age.One possible causative factor may be exposure to  internet pornography at aformative age. A fascinating firsthand exploration of this subject can be found here in addition to academic journals: