Promoting the need for truthful information to foster a democracy built on trust.
Young people spend 3.5 hours a day consuming the media, which is the second most important activity for young people after sleep. Essential, though often underestimated, media contribute to their socialization, competing head-on with family and school. Keystone of their understanding of the world, it has become a real social issue. What are the mechanisms and impact of the media on young people? Should we be concerned about the risky content and behaviour (violence, pornography, extreme behaviour, etc.) conveyed by the media? How can we talk openly about them with young people in formal and informal learning contexts, at home, at school and elsewhere ? With the aim of advancing media literacy, the author proposes here a coherent analysis of the media environment, all media taken together, inspired by international research in social cognition that reconfigures previous knowledge about attention, memory, emotion and action, and shows how the phenomenon of socialization through screens works. In trying to maintain a balanced perspective between the needs for political and commercial freedom of speech in the media and the needs of child protection and adult media education, it proposes practical and constructive solutions for parents and educators that respond to their concerns and questions.
Available at the Documentation Centre of the Fondation Descartes.
