Recommended reading: Why we need information literacy classes By VICTOR SHI Chicago Tribune

 

The following article by Victor Shi, an eloquent Gen Z'er appeared recently in the Chicago Tribune (May 2, 2022). He makes a good argument for the need for information literacy instruction.

Fifty years ago, the national networks CBS, ABC and NBC dominated television screens in America and were the primary way voters obtained information. Each network, along with newspapers and radio, told its audience facts first, and all agreed on what the facts were. That meant Americans had a shared understanding of the truth — which is what led to the erosion of both Democratic and Republican public support for then-President Richard Nixon during the Watergate investigation.

But the time of Democrats and Republicans agreeing on facts is no more. In the early 1980s, cable news networks emerged. The late ‘80s and early ‘90s brought the internet, and Six Degrees became the first social media platform later in the ‘90s. With each development, avenues for information grew more abundant. People weren’t confined to newspapers and the three news stations for information. Instead, we gained the ability to access information anywhere — and with less and less scrutiny.

Read the whole article here