In the digital world of today, unlike any other time in history, we can have any question answered with the click of a few buttons. We are inundated with news/information on our phones, tablets, and computers. Locating information is fairly simple but determining if the information we find is true or trustworthy often is not.
I very much enjoyed listening to “Fake News and Media
Literacy”, an interview with Clay Johnson, author of The Information
Diet, on The Liturgists podcast.
Prior to this podcast, I had not heard the term “information diet”, and
I immediately had a misconception of what that meant. I was thinking of “diet”
as a verb. When someone mentions, “going on a diet”, that term typically
implies the consumption of “less” food – or cutting back. When I first heard “information diet”, I figured
this podcast was going to suggest consuming less information to prevent the
overwhelm many of us feel from the constant stream of information that we
receive daily.
Instead, this “diet” was used as a noun, as in the kind of
food a person regularly eats – a conscious decision. This reframed my thinking to understand that
an information diet is the total information a person regularly consumes. It is a deliberate and conscious decision made to manage the volume, quality and reliability of the information consumed. To continue
this food analogy, our diets can consist of nutritious food or junk. We can consume an appropriate amount of food
to keep us healthy and strong or we can overconsume (even healthy foods) and become unhealthy. Similarly, our information diet can consist of an appropriate volume of high quality, relevant content or can consist of copious amounts of low value, untrue or possibly harmful content. When our information diet becomes unbalanced,
we often suffer the consequences mentally, emotionally, and relationally.
The key to maintaining a “balanced” information diet is to
be intentional and thoughtful about the information that we choose to digest. Johnson shared a song to help the podcast listeners
remember five key questions to ask to determine the credibility of sources.
1. Who wrote this?
2. Who published it? Do they have
an editorial review board?
3. When was it published?
(Date)
4. Are the sources cited? (Authors
and contributors should be named.)
5. Was it written with proper grammar
and mechanics?
As a school librarian, it will be important for me to model a healthy, balanced information diet. It will also be important for me to show my students how they can achieve one, as well. Explaining the importance of placing time limits on the amount of media consumed daily (particularly social media), exploring ways to determine credibility (using Valenza's (2016) strategies and tips), and taking intentional breaks from media consumption to read, play games, exercise, etc. are all helpful strategies that I can teach my students.
References
Gungor M. (Host). (2017, March 7). Fake News and
Media Literacy [Audio podcast]. In The Liturgists. The liturgists.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fake-news-media-literacy/id903433534?i=1000382332635
Valenza, J. (2016) Truth, truthiness, triangulation: A news literacy toolkit for a "post-truth" world. School Library Journal, https://blogs.slj.com/neverendingsearch/2016/11/26/truth-truthiness-triangulation-and-the-librarian-way-a-news-literacy-toolkit-for-a-post-truth-world/
Hi Jenna,
ReplyDeleteI agree that modeling a healthy information diet as a school librarian is very important. With students growing up in an extremely digital world teaching digital and information literacy is a crucial part of library programming. As an adult it is often hard to navigate and manage information intake, so I think it's critical to embed these types of learning opportunities into the curriculum early and often. Teaching students to be conscious of their information habits will set them up for greater success in their technology-filled future.
Hey, Jenna! I love the transparency in your section about your information diet. You are definitely not the only one who avoids politics and news outlets because I am the same way. I feel like I get more frustrated than anything most of the time, especially when I can see comments from others on the posts (and can tell that they did not do their own research). As a school librarian, digital literacy is going to be a big thing that I push, and often. It is important for students to understand how their online presence and ability to gather information affects them and their future. Thank you for your post!
ReplyDeleteHi Jenna!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that modeling is super important. Kids often learn by watching and copying things that they see. If they have an adult that can show them how a responsible adult goes about finding information, then hopefully, they will follow that path. There are a few really good curriculums out there that teach kids about internet safety and being digitally literate. Some that have materials for kids as young as kindergarten. In an age when some kids spend so much time on instagram and TikTok, it is very important for them to learn how to use those apps safely, even If they technically shouldn't be on those apps in the first place.
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ReplyDeleteHi Jenna! I really appreciate that you were honest and very self-reflective in your assessment of your media diet. It's so relatable to avoid news for fear of becoming upset. I like your emphasis on limiting a person's media consumption to avoid drawbacks. It's important to stay informed but to also reset the mind with leisure and exercise.
ReplyDeleteJenna, I really like the discussion of your thought process when encountering the new terminology "information diet." It is important for us as school librarians to not only provide the framework and tools to assist students in gathering trustworthy information, but to be aware of our personal interactions with information. Throughout my studies within this MLIS program, I have learned that students learn just as much--if not more--through implicit curriculum. They learn behaviors from the way their elders interact and react to information and experiences.
ReplyDelete