Tweens use media. A recent study from the Kaiser Foundation claims that tweens use media an average of 7.5 hours a day, and that because they often use multiple types of media simultaneously, they are actually exposing themselves to 10 hours and 45 minutes of media content every day. They are using laptops and smart phones to access high-speed Internet, and MP3 players to download music. They have facebook accounts, create podcasts at school, and some even write research papers on their phones. No longer is cutting edge technology reserved for the elite, everyone uses technology across the board.
Technology has been deeply entrenched in the everyday lives of all Americans. From the flatscreen TVs that hang from the ceiling of our SUVs to the telephones we use for driving directions and to check our email, Americans use media. The fact that tweens are using media on their own should be no surprise. Instead of biting our fingernails, adults, and librarians in particular, should embrace this new found opportunity to help mold our tech-savvy kids into competent and successful individuals.
According to Beaufort (2009), “technology plays an increasingly important role in both classroom and workplace settings and affects literacy activities significantly” (p. 243). Today’s tweens must become information literate if they expect to succeed in school, or at work. Libraries can help tweens attain the evaluative skills they need to choose reliable Internet sites, abide by the rules that prevent plagiarism, and turn their natural inclination towards using media to serious educational assets. Partnering with schools and teachers, creating regular library programs that teach information literacy skills, and maintaining collections that are conducive to media learning are essential activities of all librarians serving youth.
The reality is that information literacy is more critical than educational success. “Just about a quarter (23%) of online low income teens look for Health information [online] compared with 11% of teens from households earning more than $75,000 a year.” (Lenhart, 2010). However, inexperienced with wading through the thousands of search results generated, tweens and teens report having difficulty searching for online health information. They often feel frustrated by the lack of consistent quality information, or daunted by the number of sites from with to choose (Vargas, 2005, p. 17-18).
It is not enough to say that these kids should go to their parents or their doctors. The truth is that they aren't going to qualified adults for answers to their health related questions. They are going to the Internet. It is imperative that libraries work to provide access to the most reliable and comprehensive sources of information online. Evaluating health websites, setting up pathfinders, creating mobile apps, and directing tweens to reputable sites can eliminate some of the frustration tweens experience and can minimize the threat that they will encounter misinformation. One excellent health related website for tween girls is: girlshealth.gov
Beaufort, A. (2009). Preparing adolescents for the literacy demands of the 21st-century workplace. In L. Christenbury, R. Bomer, & P. Smagorinsky (Eds.), Handbook of Adolescent Literacy Research (pp. 239-255). New York: Guilford Press.
Lenhart, A.; Purcell, K.; Smith, A.; Zickuhr, K. (2010). Social media & mobile internet use among teens and young adults. Pew Internet and American Life Project. http://pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2010/PIP_Social_Media_and_Young_Adults_Report_Final_with_toplines.pdf
Rideout, V.M., Foehr, U.G., & Roberts, D.F.(2010). Generation M2: Media in the lives of 8- to 18-year-olds. Menlo Park, CA: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/8010.pdf
Vargas, K. (2005). Teenagers, health, and the Internet: How information professionals can reach out to teens and their health information needs. Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet, 9(3), 15-23. Retrieved March 9, 2009, DOI:10.1300/J381v09n03_02
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