The mission of the Critical Lens Online Photo Exhibit is to provide an online learning experience in which teens can engage in analyzing photographic campaigns created by their peers, learning media literacy and critical thinking skills. According to the National Association of Media Literacy Education (Namle.net), media literacy is defined as the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act using all forms of communication. Without exposure and engagement in media literacy education, the mental and behavioral health of youth is compromised. Healthy People 2020 (US Department of Health and Human Service, 2015) classified exposure to media portrayals of violence and sexual content as an environmental risk factor that increased the likelihood of youth adopting risky behaviors.

 

Youth use and consume media on average 7.5 hours each day (Rideout, Roberts, & Foehr, 2010). That means youth engage with media on average 2,737 hours a year versus being in school 1,025 hours a year, as required by the state of North Carolina. Youth spend more time engaging with media than they spend in school, with family, friends, and even themselves. Overall, African American youth report spending on average 4 more hours engaging with media than white youth increasing their daily media usage to eleven hours per day. A 2015 study by the Pew Research Center found that 92% of teens reported accessing social media online on a daily basis and that 56% reported going online several times a day (Lenhart, 2015). Constant usage of social media has been linked to Social Media Anxiety Disorders (SMAD) and Internet Addiction Disorders (IAD).

 

Media literacy education addresses the potential negative effects of extensive media consumption and exposure. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) (2014) described three ways in which the media could have a negative influence on youth: (1) glamorization (e.g., associating alcohol use with desirable qualities such as being popular and attractive), (2) normalization (e.g., presenting alcohol as a natural part of everyday activities), and (3) product placement (e.g., promoting a specific brand of alcohol by placing it in film or showing it being used by an actor). However, SAMHSA further noted that teaching adolescents how to become media literate can protect them from pressures in the media to engage in risky behaviors, including smoking, drinking, sexual activity, and/or unhealthy eating. As the Center for Media Literacy explained, media literacy is a 21st century approach to education; with media literacy education, students learn to become competent, critical, and literate in a variety of media forms (Center for Media Literacy [CML], 2011). The emphases is not on students’ remembering statistics about the media, but instead for them to learn how to analyze media content critically, whether engaged in watching, reading, or listening.

 

Moreover, cumulative media messages reinforce negative and limiting stereotypes for African Americans, through biased framing that includes violent, immoral, and uneducated representations. As was highlighted by #OscarsSoWhite, positive African American media depictions are rare and actors often do not receive equal recognition with white performers. According to Stillwell (2016), he discusses the #OscarsSoWhite issue and quotes “In response to the controversy over the lack of nominations for nonwhite creative talent for the 2016 Academy Awards, the satirical comedy show The Daily Show aired a segment inspired by the Twitter hashtag #OscarSoWhite. The African American comedian/correspondent Roy Wood, Jr., argued that to make a black hit movie, you need a whip, a firehose or a negro spiritual.” While institutions are slow to change, youth can be empowered to push against negative portrayals and create their own media. Creating photographic campaigns through production tools is one way to support youth identity, leadership and, for some, may lead to media careers so that youth can begin to change the industry from the inside.

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Based on the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) for Charlotte-Mecklenburg High Schools (CMS), African American and Hispanic students combined were more likely than white students to be involved in physical fights, attempt suicide, engage in sexual intercourse before age 13, have four or more sexual partners, and regurgitate to lose weight or prevent weight gain (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2013). Although CMS 2013 YRBS shows a direct correlation with media exposure and youth risk behaviors, media literacy and media safety education has not yet been mandated in the schools. This is disheartening as media content is normalizing and perpetuating violent relationships in the African American community and, in particular, violence against women and other disempowered social groups. Media representations shape or support group norms and are detrimental to minorities’ self concept and self esteem, behavior, and achievement. Media representations can contribute to negative evaluations of minority groups, strained intergroup relationships, and institutional practices that limit access to education and employment opportunities, and resources for minority youth.

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Increasing media literacy has shown promise in changing perceptions about minority groups, social norms, violence, and increasing youth’s self esteem and self-efficacy. The Critical Lens Online Photo Exhibit will serve as an intervention for youth county-wide by increasing youth’s knowledge, ability and desire to engage with media literacy from photo campaigns created by teens that focus on the media’s influence on Body Image, Stereotypes, Healthy Relationships and Social Media’s influence on social identity. The educational need for students will be met through this design as they learn how to navigate through the digital environment that they are immersed in on a daily basis by learning how to critically analyze media messages. These media messages communicate and influence learners of all ages and it is vital for students to have the ability to inquire and critically evaluate content. Since media literacy is still not mandated in many public schools, the creation of an online learning exhibit enables after school programs and parents with Internet access to provide meaningful media literacy experiences with their students outside the classroom or at home.

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REFERENCES

 

United States Department of Health and Human Services, Healthy People 2020. (2014, November 25). Adolescent health: Overview.           Retrieved from: http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/Adolescent-Health

 

Rideout , V., Roberts, D., & Foehr, U. Generation M: Media in the lives of 8–18 year-olds. Menlo Park, CA: The Henry J. Kaiser Family

         Foundation; 2010.

 

Lenhart,  A. (April, 2015).  Teen, social media and technology overview 2015.  Pew Research Center.  Retrieved from:

         http://www.pewinternet.org/files/2015/04/PI_TeensandTech_Update2015_0409151.pdf

 

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2013). Charlotte-Mecklenburg County, NC 2013 results. Retrieved from

 http://nccd.cdc.gov/youthonline/App/Results.aspxTT=A&OUT=0&SID=HS&QID=QQ&LID=CM&YID=2013&LID2=&YID2=&COL=R&ROW1=N&ROW2=N&HT=QQ&LCT=LL&FS=S1&FR=R1&FG=G1&FSL=S1&FRL=R1&FGL=G1&PV=&TST=True&C1=R12&C2=R15&QP=G&DP=1&VA=CI&CS=Y&SYID=&EYID=&SC=DEFAULT&SO=ASC

 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2014). Reading between the lines.     

         http://www.toosmarttostart.samhsa.gov/families/media/reading.aspx

 

Center for Media Literacy (2011). Case study: Establishing media literacy in a Catholic school setting. Retrieved from

         http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/case-studyestablishing-media-literacy-catholic-school-setting

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National Association for Media Literacy Education. (2007, November). Media Literacy Defined.

         https://namle.net/publications/media-literacy-definitions/

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Stilwell, R. J. (2016). Black Voices, White Women's Tears, and the Civil War in Classical Hollywood Movies. 19th-Century

         Music, 40(1), 56-78.

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