Category: Research

How Swifties Will Bring Back Media Literacy

4/1/2025

by Sophia Nigro

Nowadays, misinformation and conspiracy theories run rampant, especially online. More and more people take what they’re reading at face value, not realizing they’re being deceived. This is due to the fact that media literacy is at an all time low. According to The National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE), media literacy is “the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act using all forms of communication.”

Taylor Swift at the Eras Tour. Photo by: Paolo V via Wikimedia Commons

Basically, instead of only analyzing works in school, like in an English course, we take those skills we learned and apply them to any content we consume on a daily basis. Studies have shown that many people are not learning these skills, and therefore can be more susceptible to conspiracy theories and fake news. It seems that teens are the ones mainly affected by this misinformation, as multiple studies revealed they are more likely to fall for these things compared to adults. It’s incredibly concerning that so many people, especially the younger generation who is our future, cannot correctly analyze information and tell what is real and fake. This is only made worse by the introduction of AI, as now we also have to worry about the spread of fake images and videos. So, how exactly can we combat this media literacy drought? In our desperate time of need, I think we should look to possibly the largest and most influential fanbase in history: the Swifties.

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Facebook: fact or fiction?

11/1/2016

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by Rachel Carly

As a nation, we are entering an election year that is monumental. Although many negative things can be said about the debacle that is the 2016 Presidential elections, one potential positive among the wreckage is the public’s newfound engagement with politics. From signs littering the lawn of your neighbors to your distant cousin’s misinformed Facebook rant, the spread of opinion, policy, and (hopefully) fact is both accessible and widespread. People are keeping close eyes on both candidates, sharing news articles, conspiracy theories, and data to demonstrate a candidates worth or prove a candidates incompetence. While it is encouraging that so many people are taking interest in politics and the progression of society, where is this information coming from? And more importantly, does the public care?

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Research in the Age of Instant Gratification

8/1/2015

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by Leslie Martinelli

A few years ago, I read that Encyclopedia Britannica no longer would be printing encyclopedias. Add that to the list of things from my childhood that no longer exist. Don't get me wrong - I'm not anti-progress. Where would we be without air conditioning, microwave ovens, and cell phones? And some of those extinct items deserved to go, like cars without seat belts and manual typewriters. But every now and then technology interferes where it doesn't belong, and I just have to say: Stop! Enough!

Encyclopedias are a case in point. Those printed volumes held many fond memories for me. The first set to enter my family’s house came by way of a door-to-door salesman. That set caused some conflict between my parents. My father had warned my mother time and again not to let salesmen in the front door, let alone buy from any of them. They were, he said, like seagulls - once you fed one of them, you couldn't get rid of the flock. Our house was testament to that caveat; we owned a top-of-the-line vacuum and enough brushes and cleaning products to supply the whole neighborhood. My mother stood by her latest purchase, though. As she saw it, that set of encyclopedias was an investment in my and my brothers’ educational futures.

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How Swifties Will Bring Back Media Literacy

Facebook: fact or fiction?

Research in the Age of Instant Gratification

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