Distinguishing fact from fiction has become an increasingly common struggle for many people.
"It's even difficult for me, and I'm kind of a news junkie, to discern what is real and what's not real," said Patricia Barrett, Arroyo Grande resident.
“I'm always questioning what I'm looking at,” said Ryan Mammarella, San Luis Obispo High School English teacher.
It’s especially challenging among younger generations. A Stanford study found that 82% of middle school students struggled to distinguish advertisements from news stories.
However, a new California law aims to make sure students are able to do so, by requiring media literacy lessons in four core subject areas: math, science, history, and English language arts.
The push for media literacy isn't exactly new; groups likeMedia Literacy Now have been championing it for over a decade.
"Our own study found 84% of folks believe we should be teaching media literacy in K-12 schools," said Erin McNeill, CEO and founder of Media Literacy Now.
Despite the demand, McNeill says only 18 states are making moves to bring media literacy into their schools.
Both high school and college educators agree it could benefit society.
“I think that starting earlier will be a benefit and pushing that standard down to an earlier age because students at, you know, fifth grade, fourth grade are really looking online,” Mammarella said.
Brady Teufel, professor and chair of the Journalism Department at Cal Poly, says everyone should be a savvy media consumer.
“This isn't just something for elementary school kids or high school kids to be aware of,” he said.
Teufel defines media literacy as:
“Being able to interact with various platforms and various media outlets in an intelligent way.”
He says media literacy is more important now than ever before.
“Younger kids are exposed to information online and they don't really have a credible way or an effective way to discern what's true and what's not,” Teufel said.
Updates to schools' curriculum are expected to happen once the new year starts and changes are approved by the Board of Education.
“I think it's very, very important for the young people to take something like that,” Barrett added.
