Illustration by Justin Vaughan
Our children will never know the pain of having to hoof it to the library to use a giant set of encyclopedias for a school project or research paper. Everything they need to look up is literally at their fingertips. Instant access to answers has made so many things easier in life, for parents and kids, but it comes at a cost. It can be difficult to determine what is accurate, what is opinion, and what is plain false when it comes to available information. And if adults have trouble deciphering it all, imagine the difficulty level for children.
The mismatch of knowledge became apparent during the recent presidential election. President-elect Donald Trump pointed fingers at the media, calling it biased and untruthful. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton scolded conservative media outlets that claimed to be middle-of-the-road — saying they are anything but moderate. Facebook saw a slew of fake news stories and sites pop up, some of which received more traffic and engagement than established media sites like The Washington Post and The New York Times. Following the election results, fake news writer Paul Horner said he thought his bogus reports probably contributed to Trump’s election.
False information not only exists — but people consume it and accept it as truth.
How can we raise children who are thinkers and able to determine what is truth, and what is a smoke screen? Here are five skills you should be teaching them from a young age.
How to use real books
Digital information is abundant and easy to access, but it’s important that kids learn how to open, decipher and absorb the content of physical books. The books on library shelves are not historical relics; they should be an active part of your child’s education and life. This appreciation for books should start when your children are still small enough to look through picture books while they sit on your lap. A child who has respect for physical books will be more likely to seek them out when it’s time to learn something new.
How to go beyond one click
It takes multiple sources and plenty of reading and re-reading to discern what’s true. As your kids research topics, they may find opposing views and this is a good thing. It gives them a chance to see several sides of an issue and if it isn’t fact-based, they can form their own opinion based on what they’ve read. Factual information will have more than one source stating it.
How to sort out what they read online
Not everything found on the Internet is created equal. The fake news explosion is proof of this. People post whatever they want, and our kids need to be aware of that fact. Head to a few government sites and big-name news outlets and show your kids around. Then head to an opinion-based blog and point out the differences. You should also find sites that offer sponsored content and show them how to spot it. While there is some truth in advertising, there is also a lot of bias.
How to have an online (moral) compass
It’s easier than ever to cheat, and that’s just a difficult truth. When kids are doing math homework, they can use phone calculators and online algorithms to find answers. They can look up notes and summaries on the books they are reading and skip over the actual reading portion. They can send answers to friends via text and email. Just because they CAN do these things doesn’t mean that they should. That may seem obvious to us as parents, but the ethical code of today’s generation isn’t always straightforward. Finding an answer online may not even seem like cheating to some kids who have been taught to “Google” everything. Parents have to state the obvious, though. Finding answers in a way that is not sanctioned by a teacher or parent is cheating. Sharing information with friends instead of allowing those friends to find it themselves is also cheating.
How to stay safe
There are many tools at parents’ disposal for keeping kids safe online but we can’t just set up privacy controls and call it a day. Part of teaching our kids how to obtain real knowledge is teaching them how to protect themselves when we aren’t around. Kids need freedom to flex their online muscles, without parents always looking over their shoulders, but that means we have to talk with them about the potential dangers of cyberspace. Kids need to feel comfortable telling their parents about anything they see online that makes them uncomfortable. If you’ve already told them what some of those things may be, then they won’t feel as awkward telling you. What does this have to do with vetting information online? When our kids can spot things that are “off” in digital spaces, they are demonstrating the skill of awareness about what they are reading and absorbing.
We have to help our kids obtain real knowledge in a misinformation-saturated world. That takes work on the part of parents, but it’s good work because it will pay off in a more aware and informed next generation. Our kids will have to work harder than we ever did to obtain knowledge, even though it would seem at first that they have it easier. The overabundance of information available to them means they have a bigger responsibility to find, and defend, the truth. As parents, we can help them learn how to seek out knowledge for themselves — and get them on board with vetting information, instead of simply consuming it.
Matthew Lynch is a Richmond-based educational consultant and the editor of theedadvocate.org and thetechedvocate.org.
