Media literacy is increasingly coupled with a particular version of ‘information literacy’. I argue that this is not only conceptually incoherent but also educationally problematic.
Can we legislate for online safety?
The UK government’s Online Safety Bill has been continually beset by delays and difficulties – and by some justified criticisms. Further thought is clearly needed… Continue reading
Youth representing youth
Two recent films, produced collaboratively with groups of young people, raise some interesting questions about representation. A discussion of Sarah Gavron’s Rocks (2020) and Fred Baillif’s La Mif (The Fam, 2021). Continue reading
Yesterday’s news?
Two recent reports cast further light on young people’s increasing disengagement from mainstream news media.
How toddlers learn the secret language of movies
An interview with Cary Bazalgette, author of a fascinating new book about how very young children learn to understand screen media.
The uselessness of literacies
Who needs data literacy?
Is ‘data literacy’ a useful response to the datafication of contemporary life – not least of education itself? It all depends, not only on how it’s defined but also on how it is practically implemented.
A suburban scene: youth and music in sixties London
In the late 1950s and 1960s, the south-west London suburbs of Richmond and Twickenham were a hotbed for innovation in popular music. What can the history of this very local music scene tell us about youth culture more broadly?
When is a children’s comic subversive?
The Beano, the UK’s longest-running children’s comic, is often celebrated as ‘subversive’. But what does such a claim really mean?
Airbrushing the Street: re-telling the story of how we got to Sesame Street
A new documentary glosses over some awkward questions about the origins of America’s most celebrated children’s television show.
David Buckingham 