Introduction 

Teenagers today consume a lot of news about global challenges, ranging from climate change to social justice. Just one decade ago, families could filter news from the outside world, but now minors can access anything on their mobile phones without adult guidance. Despite restrictions regarding age and consent, online channels offer both information and involvement opportunities, allowing youth to shape opinions, share content, or even start campaigns. Many teenagers react to injustice and unfairness, but their critical, expressive and interpretative skills are still immature, and they engage mainly based on emotions. As most of them have unsupervised internet access, they are often on their own to handle disturbing news.

How do teens get the news?

In general, youth consume news from a variety of sources on social media platforms, including various kind of contents: political news, sports, cultural updates, satire, and memes can be accessible via online news websites, media platforms, instant messaging, posts, alerts, etc, along with commercial or entertaining content, in a variety of formats, which makes critical news consumption more difficult (Tully & Vraga, 2018). Traditional news outlets are frequently ignored for reasons of trust, language, aesthetics, and reliability (Mihailidis & Viotty, 2017), while accidental news exposure is the norm in young audiences.

Popular platforms such as Tik Tok, Instagram and YouTube have become massive educators for youth and open the door to unlimited random, fragmented, uncontrolled “news”; however, social media lack appropriate interpretative structures and adolescents can navigate in a void of socially significant content, casually glancing at snapshots of the world through their cell phones, usually out of context, without learning how society is organized or which are the rights and duties of citizens. Applications use similar format for any content, which makes it difficult for them to perceive the different categories of information, so they often miss social issues and spend their time on trivial things instead. Though they are avid internet users, minors are not adequately represented on media as a social group, especially as regards issues of power: their rights and responsibilities, their needs and abilities, or opportunities for public discourse (Livingstone et. al., 2023). Thus, they act as a marginalized group, turning to alternative media (McKee, 2005).

MIL in Greek education

In Greece there are no national policies for MIL in schools and educators are not trained in relevant issues (neither during their studies, nor in their professional environment). So, most tend to interpret MIL ideas on an ad hoc basis, resulting in a variety of definitions and applications and in random experiences for their students. Some define MIL as the ability to critically distinguish between credible sources and misinformation; others focus on safe navigation, personal data protection, or ethical consequences of online behaviour; others see MIL as media creation, in which students practice with digital tools. This wide range of fragmented definitions emphasises the importance of a standardised framework for comprehensive and consistent MIL guidance across Greek schools, in order to provide students with the necessary abilities to navigate the complicated media ecosystem successfully and responsibly, in a classroom atmosphere that promotes informed and analytical thinking.

Due to the lack of formal teachers’ MIL training, adolescents’ digital, media and news literacy skills and competences do not correlate with their exposure and use of media. Developing the ability to distinct correct information from misleading content, and positioning data in a specific context, is urgent at this age, so that they can control the risk of being influenced by extreme, or even partisan, positions. More seriously, teenagers perceive the environment of platforms as their natural habitat, which shapes their reasoning habits: fragmented attention, distractions, random exposure to content, “shallow” reading, quick conclusions, adopting opinions with social and emotional motives, evaluating sources without logical criteria, etc. This environment, combined with the recent PISA findings that reading comprehension not well developed in Greek high school students, causes serious concerns.

While research regarding news consumption habits and civic engagement of teenagers is still scarce and at some points diverging, especially as regards their news evaluation habits and engagement with social issues (Chryssanthopoulou, 2022; Panagiotou et. al., 2022; Orfanidou & Panagiotou, 2022), however, all studies seem to converge in that minors are avid digital media users but their digital, media and news literacy skills as well as civic engagement competences do not correlate with their extensive exposure in news and use of media. Media Literacy Pedagogy is critical for educators for raising a well-informed, critical, and responsible future generation. MIL education is an urgent request both for university students and professionals.

Teens and civil engagement

Teenagers’ civic engagement is vital because education and exposure to civic issues at a young age is fundamental to creating future active citizens; also, a sense of socio-political empowerment is linked to self-esteem and well-being (Cho et al., 2020). On online platforms, teens adopt and express opinions on private or public issues, construct personal and social identities, give meaning to social or political concepts, defend issues that concern them and learn how to participate in public debate in small groups or in larger communities. In this landscape they strengthen their sense of identity, linking it to their self-esteem and well-being. However, despite easy access to information, a teenager can grow in a vacuum of socially meaningful content, as regards how society is organized, or the ways a person can get civically involved. 

Fragmented media create alternative realities for young users and often they cannot understand their online responsibilities and rights, which promotes ethical digital citizenship and engagement; even worse, sometimes they cannot distinguish online from offline reality. MIL education is crucial, but so is social and emotional training at that age: learning how to speak about experience and feelings, understanding news; finding meaning in words and images; interacting with others online and offline; understanding the role of media and developing news consumption habits; growing an interest in social issues; spotting biases, stereotypes and false information; developing power relations with media and growing tolerant to manipulation are essential skills for school ages.

Disturbing news

On February 28, 2023, a passenger train and an intermodal freight train collided head-on in mainland Greece, and 57 people were killed. According to official counts, there were 342 passengers on the passenger train and 10 aboard railway staff on the freight train, for a total of 354 individuals on both.

It was a Monday morning and everyone was shocked to learn the news; students had to go to school, feeling frightened and distressed. This was not the first time that they had to deal with bad news, as in 2018, 11 children were annihilated in a fire, when a coastal village was burned to the ground in just one hour, with 104 casualties. However, the fire occurred during the summer holidays while the train crash occurred during the academic year on a business day.

Despite the significant influence such tragedies can have on young minds there is no central instruction to educators as for how to deal with such news in the classroom setting. It is up to the teachers, or head masters, to try to handle these sensitive issues in the way they see fit, without any governmental guidance as to how children can handle media messages and reports. 

The lack of structured educators’ training in media & news literacy, but also emotional literacy, leaves students to explore their feelings and questions on their own, which can intensify their anxiety and sense of helplessness. Adults’ discussions, on the other hand, often revolve upon assigning blame rather than understanding responsibility in the complex interplay of factors contributing to such disasters. Similarly, debates may prioritise punishment over accountability, which can instil a vindictive mindset rather than one of constructive problem-solving; events may be presented in a different way through the lens of different random persons, who can have their own interpretation or political (or sometimes partisan) views. In addition, while acting out is occasionally encouraged in the midst of shocking news, this is often fragmentary and lacks context and depth, based on emotional responses rather than informed understanding.

In order to support both students and teachers, schools must emphasise a balanced approach that incorporates responsibility and accountability into a critical media consumption mind-set. Educators should be provided with the resources and necessary training to conduct discussions and empower students. This would assist children in navigating their emotions, developing critical thinking abilities, and fostering a sense of agency in media consumption. Creating a safe environment and providing resources to both instructors and students, and introducing lesson plans on media literacy and crisis management, can help instructors better support their pupils during tough times.

Polarized discussions

Lack of structured discussion templates, uneven teacher interaction, and a focus on blame and punishment rather than understanding and accountability can erode students’ emotional literacy and ability to engage intelligently with news and control the media messages they consume. This attitude not only has an immediate impact, but it can also inhibit their long-term ability to navigate and positively contribute to societal concerns. Polarised conversations on social media that always follow such distressing events, make it difficult for students to understand the truth, causing confusion and worry, particularly among those who had relatives or friends on-board. Without critical news literacy skills, they are unprepared to comprehend the complex situation.

To actively battle polarisation and misinformation teachers can encourage open, compassionate conversations that connect students’ feelings both to facts and to solutions. They must establish connections between school and home, ensuring that students receive constant support. Incorporating practical skills and examples into classes can help students critically evaluate information and improve their critical thinking skills. Providing resources, instructions, and activities geared to these goals will help to alleviate depression and anxiety. Schools can also build procedures for effective communication with families, providing them with material, activities and guidance, so that all parties respond with empathy to students.

Our MIL Junior Club

At the MIL Junior Club that I teach once a week at a private high school in Athens we devoted 2 sessions on the subject; it was easy to implement a plan, as students were already MIL trained. The class was on a Friday so a whole week had passed after the incident. The goal was to become an active listener of students’ input and provide a safe space, give prompts for discussion, guide emotional expression and advise on social media content. Most students seized the opportunity and said that they had first learned the news from social media and friends, but they had no discussions with teachers in the classroom. We tried to focus on facts, shared responsibilities, accountability of all sides and reactions within context. We did not justify any side, but emphasized the importance of trusted sources of information and proper netiquette in times of crisis. We visited reliable online sources and discussed about hate speech that flooding their news feeds.

Teens were relieved to talk and share their feelings and to learn how to deal with distressful content on the media. They all shared their experiences and views; some said:” My cousin was on the train”; “Adults don’t tell us anything”;” Teachers don’t discuss in class – as if nothing has happened!”; “My parents were watching the news for hours”; “I just wanted to be alone”; “All my friends were posting the news”. Their thoughts were added to a one-pager that I prepared for the school to send to parents, in order to give them ideas as to how to deal with bad news at home and promote a news literacy mentality.

Suggestions: a guide for educators

To assist educators in dealing with upsetting news in the classroom, a standard guide or template of prompts for classroom discussions can be drafted, ideally at a central governmental level, and sent to schools, with the following indicative components:

Introduction to the Discussion – Recognition of the Event, Establishing a secure Space

• “Today, we need to discuss the recent train crash that has been in the news. It’s normal to be upset or bewildered about what happened.”
• “This is a safe space where we can express emotions and thoughts without judgement. Respecting one other’s emotions is essential.”

Discussion Prompts and Ideas

Expressing Feelings (the educator can start by expressing their feelings, first):

• “How did the news make you feel when you first heard about it?”
• “Are there any specific aspects of the event that you are worried about?”

Understanding Reactions:

• “Why do you think people react differently to such news?”
• “What are some healthy ways we can cope with feelings of fear, anger or sadness?”

Focusing on balanced discussion on responsibility:

• “Instead of thinking about who is to blame, as we are not the experts here, let’s discuss what measures can be taken to prevent such incidents in the future.”
• “What roles do various people and organizations have in ensuring safety?”

Critical media consumption – MIL Basics

• “How do we know that what we read in social media is true?”
• “Can we trust specific sources more than others?”
• “How can we evaluate the validity of users’ comments under posts?”

Positive and Optimistic Thoughts

• “In times of tragedy, there are always stories of people helping each other. Can you think of any acts of kindness or heroism related to this event?”
• “How can we contribute positively in our own communities when something bad happens?”

Encouraging Hope and Resilience:

• “What are some ways communities can come together to support each other?”
• “Can you think of a time when something good came out of a difficult situation?”

Promoting Activism within Context:

• “What are some constructive ways in promoting safety and preventing accidents?”
• “How can we make sure our efforts to help are well-informed and effective?”
• “How can we inform our peers about the incident? How can we be accurate in our posts?”  
• “How do we handle hate speech?”

Conclusion and Support – Reassuring and Offering Support:

• “It’s normal to feel a range of emotions after hearing about such events. Remember, it’s important to talk to someone you trust if you’re feeling overwhelmed.”
• “The school counselors are available if you need someone to talk to more privately.”
• “Let’s focus on how we can be a source of support for each other.”

Such a guide can help educators navigate difficult conversations with sensitivity and provide students with a framework to understand, process, and respond constructively to disturbing news.

By promoting MIL and emotional literacy training, implementing simple strategies, and sharing material, educators can become mentors within the school communities, fostering a culture of critical thinking, responsible media use, and emotional literacy. Emphasis can be given to:

• Easy to use tools as “homework” that engage both students and their family
• Media, information and news literacy basics
• Focusing on values and worldviews, avoiding polarization and bias
• Fostering safe space and critical attitude
• Resources (via email, newsletter, social media) to parents for emotional support
• Media production and sharing in context
• Ethical considerations in media consumption
• Discussing accountability, media representations, polarization and dialogue
• Organizing activities with empathy and hope, embracing feelings and focusing on protection
• Inviting expert guests, organizing activities designed to educate parents and teachers
• Exemplifying healthy digital citizenship and promoting MIL mentality

Conclusion

Information consumption and youth is usually analyzed from the point of view of credibility and producing media (Kahne & Bowyer, 2017; Hobbs, 2010; Martens & Hobbs, 2015), but not so systematically discussed in relation to how teens receive or circulate content with a civic engagement intention. It is important we understand how teens bring together ‘imperfect’ knowledge (for example first-hand experience, opinions or fragments of facts) into their understanding of an issue and its context and meaning; emotional, moral, and social considerations weigh heavily on their decision about whether media stories represent experiences of the world and how to respond to them.

Emotional, moral, and societal considerations influence how people perceive news. Teens typically employ peer fact-checking tactics to get their news from social media; they are motivated by personal interests and advocate for social causes. For teenagers, who lack global knowledge and experience, it is not enough to learn how to detect (and reject) false information but they also need to understand how to incorporate ‘imperfect’ facts into a useful rational context (Middaugh, 2018).

To effectively support young people in interpreting news and handle misinformation, schools and the government should take key actions. Educators must incorporate media literacy into the curriculum, giving students practical skills for evaluating news sources and verifying facts. This includes teaching lateral reading and fact-checking skills, as well as fostering discussions about how news content relates to real-world context and emotional intelligence. The government should develop and disseminate clear guidelines and resources for schools to facilitate these discussions, integrate news literacy and promote critical thinking and responsible content consumption by encouraging students to question and critique media, preparing them to make informed decisions and contribute positively to civic life. To establish a pedagogy of news media literacy, educational programs must incorporate interactive, collaborative, expressive, and critical abilities that promote democratic engagement and media knowledge, acknowledging the importance of internet communities. Collaboration among scholars, educators, experts and journalists is critical.

As media environments change fast with the introduction of AI, media and news literacy, as well as emotional literacy programs, must be tailored to support both adults and students. These programs should promote rational media consumption, trust in professional sources and emotional control over media messages. An interdisciplinary approach to curriculum design is critical, as research suggests that MIL programs increase adolescents’ news literacy but also sharpen their learning capabilities (Kleemans & Eggink, 2016). If young people are guided to develop critical media consumption, they can not only develop an understanding of what is going on in the world, but can also learn how to improve concentration and metacognitive strategies, how to handle “difficult” content, and even more, how to rationally form their own opinions, which is a prerequisite for civic engagement.

References

Cho, A., Byrne, J., and Pelter, Z., 2020, Digital civic engagement by young people RAPID ANALYSIS, UNICEF Office of Global Insight and Policy

Chryssanthopoulou, K. (2022). Fake News Deconstructed Teens and Civic Engagement: Can Tomorrow’s Voters Spontaneously Become News Literate?. In The Palgrave Handbook of Media Misinformation (pp. 45-62). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Hobbs, R. (2010). Digital and media literacy: Connecting culture and classroom. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin/Sage.

Kahne, J., & Bowyer, B. (2017). Educating for democracy in a partisan age: Confronting the challenges of motivated reasoning and misinformation. American educational research journal, 54(1), 3-34.

Livingstone, S., Mascheroni, G., & Stoilova, M. (2023). The outcomes of gaining digital skills for young people’s lives and wellbeing: A systematic evidence review. New media & society, 25(5), 1176-1202.

Martens, H., & Hobbs, R. (2015). How media literacy supports civic engagement in a digital age. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 23(2), 120-137.

McKee, A. (2005). The public sphere: An introduction. Cambridge University Press.

Mihailidis, P., & Viotty, S. (2017). Spreadable spectacle in digital culture: Civic expression, fake news, and the role of media literacies in “post-fact” society. American behavioral scientist, 61(4), 441-454.

Orfanidou, A., & Panagiotou, N. (2023). Digital Natives: Media Literacy, News Consumption and Habits. İmgelem, 7(13), 669-692.

Panagıotou, N., Lazou, C., & Baliou, A. (2022). Generation Z: Media Consumption and MIL. İmgelem, 6(11), 455-476

Tully, M., & Vraga, E. K. (2018). A mixed methods approach to examining the relationship between news media literacy and political efficacy. International Journal of Communication, 12, 22.