The Silver Bullet for Teaching Kids to Think about Social Media?

• Doing the Tumbleweed Scroll

• The Silver Bullet Explained

• Keeping Youth Safe in the "New West"

• We're Burning Daylight

Doing the Tumbleweed Scroll

The  opportunities offered  in the Old West captivated and enticed many to come looking for treasures of gold, silver, land, and more. But along with the treasure found in the West, there was a lawlessness that spelled danger for those who traveled there. Social media holds a similar spell on all who scroll through it.  Among the many dangers faced by those who use social media, both young and old alike, is the manipulation of ideas that challenge our ability to think about them.

This is especially problematic for our young.  Between the ages of 10-13  until they are in their mid-twenties, the brains of youth are still developing and are hypersensitive to social stimuli. This means that the number of “likes” and followers can have an addictive effect on their behavior. In addition, their impulse control is not fully developed,  which makes them less able to stop scrolling and ignore all the notifications that come along on their phones. The ability to shift tasks requires higher order thinking not yet developed in young people, and these notifications can interfere with youths’ focus in school or when they are doing homework. It is these psychological and biological vulnerabilities that make the content, functions, and features inherent in various social media platforms possible dangers to our youth.

In my earlier post, Social Media Creates the Wild West for Kids’ Thinking, I explored how social media platforms are designed to create engagements through their use of algorithms that influence the users’ choices and thought processes.  This makes critical thinking an even greater imperative to be taught in schools specific to digital sources. To successfully navigate the TikToks and Instagrams of the internet, youth need to be able to evaluate messages, discern fact from fiction, and uncover biases. What’s more, they need to understand how to use these skills in a digital world that is not neutral. As Dr. Maree Davies notes, Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland, social media is “shaped by societal forces, commercial interests, and algorithms designed to influence their behavior.”  It seems, then, that if the young are going to use social media, they must be armed with not only critical thinking skills, but also in the knowledge of how the digital world works.  The good news is there may be a “silver bullet” at hand. Media literacy joins the two worlds of critical thinking and digital world knowledge to combat the negatives of social media.

The Silver Bullet Explained

Media literacy is the ability to apply critical thinking to print, broadcast and digital communications. Its goal is to discern accuracy of information, evaluate bias, and make judgements about conclusions presented. The new angle is to slant this towards the use of social media. And this type of learning is coming to schools near you. According to Media Literacy Now, as of April, 2026, 25 states have laws on the books addressing media literacy in some form. These states include California, Alabama, Florida, New Jersey, Tennessee and Texas, to name a few. Skills taught through this curriculum will enable students to:

• Evaluate online information and digital sources

• Recognize misinformation and manipulated media

• Understand how algorithms influence what they see online

• Think critically about A.I.-generated content

• Build healthy technology habits

To accomplish these goals, students are taught to understand how media ownership and bias affect the message, and the expectations of digital ethics. They ask clarifying questions like:

• Who created this message and why?

• What is this message trying to get me to do?

• What methods does this message use to persuade or inform me?

• Which perspectives are missing from this content?

•  Is the right of freedom of expression balanced with responsibility and respect?

One technique to teach youth how to decide if their thoughts are being manipulated is called lateral reading. The Digital Inquiry Group (DIG) out of Stanford University uses this method in their free curriculum.  (I have not had a chance to fully review it, so this is not an endorsement.) This approaches reading in a different way: Instead of directly reading to understand the claim, the student is taught to first discern who the person or organization is who is making the claim.

Other resources are under development to educate students about the social media features designed to keep them captive online. Sophia Choukas-Bradley from the University of Pittsburgh is working with the Harvard Graduate School’s Center for Digital Learning and Common Sense Media to evaluate a variety of resources to aid in this endeavor. Her group is also reviewing methods to teach cognitive and behavioral lessons to promote mentally healthier social media use.

Keeping Youth Safe in the “New West”

Media literacy curriculum varies from state to state and grade level to grade level. Some are global K-12 programs, and others geared towards adolescents. Parents should stay informed about what is proposed for their children. The American Psychological Association (APA) lists a series of recommendations for the use of social media in adolescents at the end of the article. A home, school, and legislation approach can be advantageous to the education about social media for our youth.

We’re Burning Daylight

The people who took part in the Gold Rush and Land Rush of the 1800s experienced the adventure and excitement as well as the dangers of the Old West. The dangers did not stop them from coming. Over time, the West was tamed through the introduction of civilized law enforcement. The same can be said for the use of social media for our youth. The complete abandonment of it would limit the positive knowledge and social aspects it brings to them. Instead, let’s teach students about the digital world and equip them with the skills to understand its workings and how to analyze the messages it sends.  The new sheriff in town is bringing media literacy as his silver bullet to do just that. As John Wayne said, “Let’s go, we’re burning daylight!”

Image adapted from one created by Julie Seymour using AI Image Creator on Wix.com 06/27/2026.