There is an unfortunate tendency among think-tanks to squeeze their latest and greatest ideas into an already bursting National Curriculum. Fortunately, it is currently being reviewed, which means we're allowed. In our new report published yesterday, we argue that the digital fluency - what we call the ability to access and critically evaluate information taken from the Internet - needs to be a central element of modern education.
The internet is now the greatest source of information for people living in the UK today, especially young people. Although there are more e-books, trustworthy journalism, niche expertise and accurate facts at our fingertips than ever before, there is an equal measure of mistakes, half-truths, propaganda, misinformation and general nonsense. The sheer amount of material available at the click of a mouse is asphyxiating as well as liberating.
Knowing how to discriminate between them is extremely important. But our research finds too many children are not particularly good at it. They are often too gullible, believing the first thing they find, and not the discerning, skeptical users that they should be. This makes them more vulnerable to the rabbit holes of extremism, conspiracy theories, rip-off merchants which are never more than three clicks away.
This is, of course, hardly new - classical philosophers developed a whole discipline about separating the information wheat from the chaff. But in an age where the traditional mediators of information - the trusted Fleet Street journalist, encyclopedia or whatever - are increasingly obsolete, it is more necessary than ever. And the Internet makes it more difficult, as it requires some specific knowledge such as how video footage can be manipulated or how search engine algorithms work.
Censorship of the internet is neither necessary, possible, nor desirable; the task instead is to ensure that young people can make careful, skeptical and savvy judgments about the internet content they encounter. They won't always get it right. I don't always get it right either. But putting critical thinking and skepticism at the heart of learning would make those tricky decisions a little easier.
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Doesn’t that depend on who you pose that proposition to Jamie? Since any ideology or regime that depends on not being questioned, or having their notions exposed to ridicule, is likely to vehemently/violently dispute that assertion.
"an equal measure of mistakes, half-truths, propaganda, misinformation and general nonsense."
Fortuitously, the Net outperforms Spandex with its ability for almost infinite accommodation. If there are errors, then what is to prevent anyone providing the means to cross reference data in order to expose discrepancies? Provided, of course, that it doesn’t involve a 100,000 vote petition followed by a parliamentary vote to access it.
"philosophers developed a whole discipline"
Politician did too. But teach the test for the veracity of human perception, and a virtual immunity to the latter quickly develops.
The web has also become a vehicle for hatred and its inevitable consequence: rumours. See how unnervingly easy it is to spread rumours about virtually anyone walking on this planet. Censorship of the internet is necessary in certain circumstances.
I agree with your stance on censorship entirely, but the above remark simply isn't true any more. A study done recently showed that the notion of Wikipedia being full of erroneous information no longer applies. On most major articles or themes Wikipedia is a superb source of FREE information, and if I ever need a solid overview of, say "Emmanuel Kant" or whatever then Wikipedia is where I go. I don't think it's fair to damn Wikipedia as some sort of lowbrow Britannica for Youths. To be honest, I'm grateful that young people care enough to contribute to an online encyclopedia in the first place and it surprises me how many adults fail to see the hope that lies in such a phenomenon. I sure as hell wasn't writing articles for others when *I* was sixteen!
http://todayfreedom.blogspot.com/
If I needed a solid overview of William Shakespeare, the Bard's playwrights would be where I'd go back with delight. Always go for the real thing, not its ersatz. You deserve it.