The Critical Need for Media and Digital Literacy Education

Outline

Part I: Introductions (peer to peer interaction)
Estimated time: 10 minutes

Part II: We have failed our students-lack of education and funding around media and digital literacy; limited regulation around technology use for children
Estimated time 5 minutes

Part III: How we got here-a look at technology companies’ influence on technology use (Trivia game)
Estimated time 10 minutes

Part IV: The implications of technology use on psychological well-being, cognitive, and emotional skills (Device based poll activity)
Estimated time 15 minutes

Part V: Solutions and what we can do
(Peer-to-peer interaction and share out with device based activity)
Estimated time 10 minutes

Part VI: Closing and recap
Estimated time 10 minutes

Outcomes

This session will provide participants with a comprehensive overview of the issues surrounding technology use, current research supporting the need for interventions and policy changes, and explore ways to integrate conversations around these topics within the classroom, or in other roles within education. The goal is to. provide those within education tools to navigate these complex issues.

Supporting research

Alonzo, R., Hussain, J., Stranges, S., & Anderson, K. K. (2021). Interplay between social media
use, sleep quality, and mental health in youth: A systematic review. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 56, 101414–101414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2020.101414

Haidt, J. (2024). The anxious generation : how the great rewiring of childhood is causing an
epidemic of mental illness. Penguin Press.

Jain, L., Velez, L., Karlapati, S., Forand, M., Kannali, R., Yousaf, R. A., Ahmed, R., Sarfraz, Z.,
Sutter, P. A., Tallo, C. A., & Ahmed, S. (2025). Exploring Problematic TikTok Use and
Mental Health Issues: A Systematic Review of Empirical Studies. Journal of Primary
Care & Community Health, 16, 21501319251327303-.
https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319251327303

McNeill, E., & Duff, A. J. (2023). U.S. media literacy policy report (with contributions by L. E.
Weber, J. Bogard, K. Brissette, T. Dolan, J. Furlong, C. Gualdron, A. Marsden, O. Polites,
K. Rhodes, T. Sobel, M. Spikes, D. Vaz, & A. Zucker). Media Literacy Now.
https://medialiteracynow.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/MediaLiteracyNowPolicyRepo
rt2023_publishedFeb2024b.pdf

Prkno, D., Grafe, N., Schulz, M. S., Kiess, W., & Poulain, T. (2025). Children’s and adolescents’
negative internet experiences and the association with quality of life and behavioural difficulties: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Paediatrics Open, 9(1), e003135-. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjpo-2024-003135

Reid Chassiakos, Y. L., Radesky, J., Christakis, D., Moreno, M. A., & Cross, C. (2016). Children
and adolescents and digital media. Pediatrics (Evanston), 138(5). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-2593

Twenge, J. M., Joiner, T. E., Rogers, M. L., & Martin, G. N. (2018). Increases in Depressive
Symptoms, Suicide-Related Outcomes, and Suicide Rates Among U.S. Adolescents After 2010 and Links to Increased New Media Screen Time. Clinical Psychological Science, 6(1), 3–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702617723376