By Renee Hobbs
Media Literacy IN ACTION
Questioning the Media
CHAPTER 13
What are the Benefits, Risks, and harms of using media?
Learning Outcomes
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Understand why children are thought to be vulnerable to media influence and why most people think that others x 4are more likely to be influenced by media than they are themselves
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Consider how public attitudes about the potential benefits, risks, and harms of media and technology have changed over time
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Examine how pleasure is activated from carefully designed immersive forms of media, including film, video games, and apps
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Consider how media use affects the development of adolescent sexuality in relation to personal and social identity.
Movies, video games, and apps tap into people’s fascination with aggression and sexuality
CREATE TO LEARN
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Analyze Dating Apps
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I'M AN ORIGINAL CATCHPHRASE
The world of dating apps continues to grow and differentiate, offering a variety of strategies for
finding a partner. Surely you have heard of Match and Tinder. But have you used Hinge? Happn?
How About We?
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Working individually or with a partner, research some of the many different online hookup apps and websites. Choose 2 dating apps or websites to compare and contrast and then explore these tools in order to understand how they work. Considering the unique traits of the dating apps and websites, create a comparison-contrast chart that identifies their key features.
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Consider the clues provided to compare two dating apps or websites based on at least five criteria. Be sure to identify the target audience, the features of the app that make it fun to use, and the assumptions the app makes about the type and nature of the relationships that matter most. Be sure to consider possible unanticipated outcomes of the dating apps or websites you examine. Share your comparison-contrast chart with others using the #MLAction hashtag.
FOR DISCUSSION
REFLECT ON SEXTING
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Consider one or more of these questions from Adele Hasinoff, author of Sexting Panic: Rethinking Criminalization, Privacy, and Consent (2015). Reflect on these questions and compose a response:
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• Is there such a thing as safe sexting? Why or why not?
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• How do you know if an image you receive is intended to be private or if it is ok to pass on to your friends?
• If you want an image to be private, what is the best way to make sure your recipient knows?
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• What kind of images are the most and least likely to cause problems if someone distributes them?
• What practices could make sexting more safe?
• Do you think sexting among minors should be illegal? Why or why not?
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After you identify the question you are addressing, share your thoughts in a brief oral presentation. Then view and respond to comments of other people who have offered thoughtful reflections on sexting, privacy, and relationships.
INTELLECTUAL GRANDPARENT:
ALBERT BANDURA
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"People who perceive themselves as a highly efficacious act, think, and feel differently from those who perceive themselves as inefficacious. They produce their own future, rather than simply foretell it."
--Albert Bandura, 1986
Learn more about how Albert Bandura influenced a generation of media literacy educators, researchers & activists
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