Media Literacy & Questioning What We Consume // with Alicia Haywood

[00:00:00] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: Hello all. And welcome to Know Them Be Them Raise Them. A show to help busy, mindful, and growth-oriented moms stay informed and inspired as they navigate their daughter's tween and teen years with most episodes running 20 minutes or less. I'm your host Carmelita Tiu.

[00:00:18] So, if you are like me, you likely have a sense for what the term media literacy means. Even if you haven't used that exact term before. I feel like I touched on it in my episodes with Emily Lauren Dick, for instance, she's a body positivity expert and we discussed cultural messages we get about beauty standards. I also know my chats with confidence coach Charles C. Childers and author, Lacey C. Clark discussed things we see and how they can impact how we see ourselves. 

[00:00:48] But I hadn't tackled the topic of media literacy itself head-on. I wanted to get a more holistic view and actual definition of what media literacy is, while also getting tools and help understanding the ways we can approach the media we're consuming with a healthy dose of skepticism. 

[00:01:09] I couldn't have asked for a better person to help explain that then today's guest Alicia Haywood. 

[00:01:15] Alicia is an award-winning producer who has been working in the professional media industry for nearly 30 years. 

[00:01:21] Her production background includes projects with iHeart Media, How Stuff Works, Fusion TV, The Oprah Winfrey Network,Tech Crunch, ABC radio, the style network, et cetera. Her career achievements span every type of media format, yet her most fulfilling successes stem from her role as an educator, making lasting impressions on the minds of the next generation. 

[00:01:45] She's passionate about helping people better understand their relationship with media. In 2018, she founded the iSpeakMedia Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing media literacy education in communities that need it most. In 2015, she played an instrumental role in launching media literacy week in the United States. 

[00:02:07] She teaches convergence journalism at the University of Missouri School of Journalism and is currently pursuing her PhD in curriculum and instruction at Florida Atlantic University where she also teaches a course on global citizenship. Here's our conversation. 

[00:02:22] Hello, Alicia, thank you so much for joining me today. I just love all the work that you're doing and I'm excited to share your expertise and insights with the listeners.

[00:02:36] Alicia Haywood: I am delighted to be with you. Thank you for the invitation and for making time for this conversation. 

[00:02:41] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: Of course. Well, let's dive right in, media literacy. I feel like people talk about it, but they don't necessarily label what they're doing or how they're talking about things as an aspect of media literacy. So can you tell us a little bit more about what media literacy is?

[00:02:59] Alicia Haywood: Sure. I would start by saying it's really just an understanding and deep understanding of how we're living in relationship with media. I like to think about navigating that relationship in a healthy way. Media literacy at its core, it's critical thinking, but there is a discipline about it.

[00:03:20] There are habits that you develop as a media literate human, that help you manage the way that you engage with media. So it's an active exchange. It's an active experience. It's you being conscious of media's presence in your life, being conscious about the decisions that you are making related to how you're using media. What kind of media habits are you developing?

[00:03:52] Media is playing a role and if you are media literate, you are very aware of that truth. You're very aware of media's presence and role in your life. 

[00:04:04] I like to bring it to a level where it's just something that everyday people can connect with and understand and recognize as something that's relevant to them. 

[00:04:17] And that's where it needs to be because media literacy applies to absolutely all of us. So there shouldn't be a select group of us engaged in conversation about it. 

[00:04:31] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: Right, right. One of the things that kind of went off in my head, as you were talking about media literacy was a couple of my former guests touch on say, body image or confidence in girls, and how the things you look at make you feel about yourself. So whether it's seeing girls that are only of a certain shape and size, and does that make you feel bad about your body image issues? So that's part of media literacy, would you say?

[00:04:59] Alicia Haywood: Oh, sure. Absolutely. And you're making me think about Jane Kilborne who has done a good bit of work in this area as it relates to advertising and commercials, that sort of thing, it's representation. It's how we're exposed to visual ideals. And how we translate that, what we see a lot of times on the screens and, in mass media, gives us a glimpse of what is supposed to be popular or likable or what we are supposed to aspire to when it comes to our looks.

[00:05:39] And yes, media literacy is absolutely about being aware of that, being conscious of that fact and understanding that everything about media on a large scale, everything about it is, put together in a very calculated way for very calculated and particular reasons. And understanding some about that process, the decision-making behind–you know, who are we going to put on screen and why, and who are we trying to attract with this media content here and for what? 

[00:06:19] A media literate person processes what they see from that kind of angle, you know, so they don't stop at, "oh, there's a pretty someone with a perfect whatever. And I should be like that."

[00:06:36] They don't stop there if they start there. It's a deeper thought process about deconstructing that media and how it even made it to being in front of you in the first place, you know, and what purpose is this serving in my life? And how about I make the decision about how it is to serve me rather than it showing up in my life and making decisions on my behalf. 

[00:07:05] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: Oh, I just got the chills hearing you say that, because I feel like you walked through how I want my daughters to approach television, TikToks, advertising, whatever it is that they're seeing right. And so, you said if I'm recalling correctly, what I'm seeing, who put it there? Like question who's creating this.

[00:07:29] Alicia Haywood: I like to think of it as exhausting all the questions that you can come up with about what's in front of you. Now from a media literacy standpoint, there are certainly key concepts and key questions that are floated through the scholarship. But it is as simple as asking. I wonder, who wrote this, or I wonder who put this together? And, imagining beyond just the finished polished, perfect piece that's in front of you, go all the way back to the idea level, the seedling of an idea, you know, who came up with this, right.

[00:08:09] And how did it make it from being an idea to whatever it is that I'm looking at or reading or hearing. And then kind of walking through all the little details that are the production elements that define the format that's in front of you, you know, and that gets you moving in the direction of deconstructing the production decision. 

[00:08:30] So it's, again, we could come back to what we were just talking about in terms of representation, but it's hmm, I wonder why casting this person, in this role was the right choice, or I wonder why they shot it this way or hmmI'm noticing this music that they're using here, which is very fill in the blank.

[00:08:55] It's very dramatic or it's very, you know, it's evoking some kind of feeling, whatever. Everything that you see and hear, in a media text of any format, can be deconstructed. 

[00:09:10] And then you would move into thinking about what message, what am I supposed to even get from this?

[00:09:16] Whoever it is that I've imagined or I've researched is behind this piece, what was their intended message for me? What did they want me to get from them? And then flip it and think about, okay, well what about someone else? 

[00:09:35] What about somebody who has an entirely different lived experience? How might they see this? Or do I see myself in this piece or who am I seeing here? 

[00:09:46] And asking questions about the why. Why is this here in front of me? Why was this made? You know, any way that you could turn a piece in its entirety into a hundred little pieces. Each one of those little pieces is a conversation starter between you and your girls. Every single one.

[00:10:13] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: Hmm.

[00:10:13] Alicia Haywood: That's a critically thinking approach to engaging with media.

[00:10:20] And Yeah it's a discipline. It takes time. And sometimes you don't want every exchange with media to feel like a job, right. It can't be work. It can't be homework all the time. And so sometimes you, you want it to be, I just want something to zone out with.

[00:10:37] I want to just relax and that's okay. But know that. Know that and engage with the media at that level. Yes, it can be work, but think about the consequence of not doing that at all. Ever. 

[00:10:55] You know, it may take a minute to kind of polish the habits and get into the routine of pausing with every kind of media that you encounter and really kind of deconstructing it.

[00:11:08] It may take a minute to get to the level where it's second nature. But it's worth the effort. It's absolutely worth the effort. And again, we have to think about what's the flip side. 

[00:11:18] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: Right, right.

[00:11:19] Alicia Haywood: And what becomes of us, if we if we don't do it at all. 

[00:11:23] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: Well, and I think back to, as a kid and in my teens, there was no such thing as body positivity. So, America was steeped in a really fat phobic culture and dieting was the thing and fat-free foods and then sugar-free foods and aerobics this and et cetera, et cetera.

[00:11:41] And I think that we can all see the residual effects of not questioning things and wondering is this really the ideal that I want to buy into? There's a lot of adult women that struggle to see themselves in a swimsuit and feel comfortable that way. 

[00:11:57] Alicia Haywood: Around the world. That's just the truth. And I would agree that there's gotta be some residual impacts and residual effects of the way we have been living alongside this level of media saturation in our lives, the impact of not critically thinking about all this in front of us, all that that's around us, all that we're engaged with when it comes to media the impact is just… It's on a level that is almost indescribable. 

[00:12:37] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: I can imagine that you coming from an academic side, see the statistics and et cetera, but even just as a parent and being cognizant of how omnipresent media is in your kids' lives, you know, when I was growing up versus when I was in my twenties and I saw kids 10, 15 years younger than me and what they were dealing with versus what my daughters are dealing with now, it's so different that I imagine there's even more of an impetus and responsibility to make sure that your kids are critically thinking about things and are armed with questioning skills because the media is 10 times more prevalent in their lives than it was for us 

[00:13:19] Alicia Haywood: At least. 

[00:13:20] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: Yeah. 

[00:13:21] Alicia Haywood: At least. Yeah.

[00:13:23] I feel for you all. As you know, I'm talking to a lot of moms now, and I want to understand what the reality is, what are you dealing with and what are you seeing and hearing at home if your kids, um, and none of us can relate. None of us adults can relate to what these young people, the way they are living with media, we can't, there's no point of reference for us. 

[00:13:49] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: Mm. 

[00:13:50] Alicia Haywood: And, the moms that I'm talking to are just. They acknowledge that there's some positive, of course there's some positive that comes from their kids being versed in different types of media.

[00:14:06] There's some educational benefits for sure, but then there's this–the matter of the world being able to access your babies, whether or not you're around whether or not you know, is very unnerving.

[00:14:22] And my goal is to have as many moms as possible conscious of this and bringing media literacy into the home. 

[00:14:32] Everybody's got a different story behind their closed doors. But I would argue that every mom wants their kids to be happy, healthy. And so, now the focus is, is home and bringing media literacy into the home.

[00:14:47] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: Well, on that note, I loved how like you said, you don't want to make every movie night with your family a lesson because I'm guilty of that sometimes. 

[00:14:58] But asking those questions and showing them that that's available, like, who do you think wrote this? Why do you think they wrote it? What are they trying to tell me? And why did they choose this way? 

[00:15:08] Alicia Haywood: And what do we know about that person or those people and their beliefs and values and intentions? Exactly. 

[00:15:17] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: And I think that I love how you phrased it as I wonder, because that poses it in, in this curious non-threatening way to me, it's more just like, huh? Let's think about that. It's like you're daydreaming, you know?

[00:15:32] Alicia Haywood: Yeah. Right. And that's an easy starting point. Isn't it? It's a conversation starter. 

[00:15:37] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: Yes. And there's no wrong answers, you're not saying that you have an answer that someone can get right or wrong. You're opening up the space for discussion. 

[00:15:45] Alicia Haywood: You're also opening up this space for you all to recognize how one of you may notice one part and another one of you is going to notice another part. You're not going to have the same thoughts about the same content. And so that example that starts with you and your girls can segue you into that conversation about, okay, well what about other people and how might the neighbors, or how might people we don't know, how might people on the other side of the world, you know, see this and what might they think about this. 

[00:16:25] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: Yes. Now as we all know with ipads and cell phones. It's hard for parents to know exactly what it is that their kids are consuming. So are there other things you'd suggest, to empower our kids, to ask those questions when they're not with us? 

[00:16:42] Alicia Haywood: Well, honestly, I love what you're doing in terms of just modeling discussion, modeling, curiosity. Getting into that habit with you all the time at home. And it–in a non-threatening safe space. And getting into that practice of viewing from a critical perspective, my hope would be that they would carry that practice.

[00:17:08] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: Hmm. 

[00:17:09] Alicia Haywood: Start really honing those habits so that it becomes reflexive, whether they're in the living room with you or they're at a friend's house or on their own somewhere else, like the more we do it, the more it become a part of the watching process.

[00:17:29] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: Yes. 

[00:17:30] Alicia Haywood: Yeah. That's where we want it to nurture.

[00:17:32] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: Yes. Okay. 

[00:17:35] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: I love hearing that because I can think of a similar example in my life with budgeting and my parents and how, when I was at a young age, they, well, I don't know if budgeting is the right word, but they would teach me how to figure out the cost per bun, you know what I mean? 

[00:17:51] Alicia Haywood: Yes. Yay mom and dad. Yes. 

[00:17:56] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: So the 6 pack versus the 10 pack and you, it wasn't easy to do the division necessarily. But to your point about sometimes it's just doing something over and over, and then it becomes second nature for your kid. Just like now I always do the math. I'm like, well, does it make more sense? The four pack or the eight pack or so I, uh, I appreciate that don't overthink it. Just model it, keep the curious conversations going.

[00:18:20] Alicia Haywood: Yeah. And the right answer is going to be what feels right. The right answer is going to be what feels right for you and your family, you and your household. 

[00:18:28] And the key is finding that balance, find what's the right, what's the right amount, that keeps your family at the level of healthy that you're happy with. 

[00:18:40] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: Mm. Thank you for giving parents the freedom to make that decision for themselves, because I do think another thing a lot of parents struggle with is rigid expectations around how screen-time should look or how family time should look, you know?

[00:18:57] Alicia Haywood: Oh, gosh, do we have to stop with the judgements? We so have to stop with the fear of what somebody else is going to think about the way we're doing, whatever it is we're doing. That's my hope for us as a people. I want us to get there. 

[00:19:15] Let me also say this for parents who are interested in evidence-based advice. I do recommend the digital wellness lab and I am an advisor, part of their education subcommittee. I'm trusting of their process and the research that they're doing. And this is what we are recommending for parents, or this is what we're seeing makes sense for kids at whatever developmental stage. So that resource is out there. 

[00:19:51] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: As we wrap up, is there a quote or affirmation that you'd like to leave with the listeners?

[00:19:59] Alicia Haywood: An affirmation. It is admiration I would start with for all of you moms who are doing the hardest work, so much respect for you all. But in terms of a quote, I always come back to, what I believe is attributed to Jacqueline Kennedy and it was something to the effect of, if you get mothering wrong, nothing else you do matters. And I just thought, well, yeah, that makes sense. That makes sense. 

[00:20:38] You know, those of you who are engaged in the hardest work who are cultivating human beings. Those who are in line to inherit this world, just infinite respect for you. And however I can be helpful. That's what I want to do. That's what I want to be. 

[00:20:58] Carmelita (Cat) Tiu, Host: I just love when an interview leaves me inspired and feeling like I can easily take action. I'm so grateful for Alicia and her insights. Here are my key takeaways. 

[00:21:12] First, media literacy is a deep understanding of how we're living in relationship with media. It's being conscious of the role that media plays in our lives. At its core, it's critically thinking about the media that surrounds us. 

[00:21:26] Second, we can develop the habit of asking questions to help us become more media literate. Common sense media lists out these five starter questions. 

[00:21:36] Number one, who created the message? 

[00:21:39] Number two, what techniques are they using to attract my attention? 

[00:21:44] Number three, how might different people interpret this? 

[00:21:48] Number four, which lifestyles or viewpoints are represented or missing? 

[00:21:54] And number five, why is this message being sent? 

[00:21:58] Third. Ask questions often and model a sense of curiosity. Use I wonder statements to encourage critical thinking in a non-threatening way. It opens up a space for any answer, not just the quote unquote right ones, and invites discussion. This'll help your kids build their critical thinking skills around media. 

[00:22:18] And lastly, remember that how you do things as a parent and what works for your family may look different than others. 

[00:22:25] The right answer for you is what feels right and healthy for you and your family. 

[00:22:31] To learn more about Alicia Haywood and the iSpeakMedia foundation. You can visit ispeakmedia.org. Follow @ispeakmediafoundation on Instagram or follow @ispeakmedia on Twitter. You can also find Alicia on LinkedIn and check out the digital wellness lab online. 

[00:22:50] All these links are in the show notes as well. 

[00:22:53] Thank you so much for listening today. Remember by listening in, you're doing the work and showing that you are a strong growth-oriented woman and mom, so high five to you. Don't forget to follow @knowberaisethem on Instagram and Facebook. And if you found something insightful, please subscribe or follow. Tell a friend. 

[00:23:13] And leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. I so appreciate you listening. And here's to strong women. May we know them, may we be them, and may we raise them.