Opinion: Resist the click: Media literacy in the time of AI

Charlie Trumbull

Staff Writer

Media permeates nearly every aspect of our daily lives, from the news we read to the entertainment we consume. With the rise of digital platforms and the proliferation of content, media influences how we perceive information and shapes our understanding of the world. 

Most people experience a form of media within the first 24 hours of their birth. A TV show airing in the hospital room, a celebratory social media post, or the soft music played during the drive home–all of these are forms of media that begin to influence us from day one. 

Broadcast Media Arts major Jamila Khan first became aware of media at the age of two when she watched PBS kid’s shows. “Gen Z grew up with different forms of media as part of everyday life,” she said. Kahn also reported that her daily media intake is nearly constant when she shares her attention between her phone, laptop, books and music. 

According to the Pew Research Center, Gen Z spends an average of 10 hours per day consuming media via social media, video streaming, playing video games and more. Additionally, the study found that 54% of young adults get news from social media. 

Media literacy is the ability to critically analyze mass media stories and determine their accuracy and credibility. This ability is becoming increasingly crucial as online media becomes distorted by fake and misleading information. 

“Because everything has shifted online, it’s becoming harder and harder to distinguish between what’s credible, what’s not credible, what’s reliable and what’s not reliable,” Rayan Salam, an instructor of WCC’s Mass Communications course, said. “It’s becoming even harder to keep up with the rapid evolution of technology and the ever-evolving media landscape.” 

When asked about the most memorable fake or misleading post she saw online, WTMC student Allison Trovini, Liberal Arts, joked, “[Baby] Boomers are always falling for AI images.” 

On a more serious note, Khan finds misleading information repugnant. When she saw a fake post slandering Palestinians, she reported that it “boiled my blood.” 

“Low media literacy skills not only lead to misinformation being spread throughout society,” Salam said. “But the way that we form ourselves as human beings—it’s how we use media as well that has a great effect on us and others.” 

A 2023 report by media content trade association, Digital Content Next, found that about 25% of online content is generated by AI, including “both benign and potentially misleading or fake information.” 

Artificial intelligence has a mixed reception among students. Trovini felt that AI helped with scheduling her classes and homework and could be good for idea generation. “It’s a nice jumping-off point.” 

Khan has a more negative view, arguing that “apocalyptic” science fiction movies are a “warning” of the dangers of AI getting out of control. She doesn’t want to see AI take jobs that require a “human touch,” such as art, writing and other creative fields. 

 WTMC student Norman Martin, general studies in math, believes that AI is really cool and can help with homework, though it shouldn’t be used for cheating. He said AI becomes an issue “when it’s used for evil rather than how it was meant to be used” and that the ethics of AI usage are “intent-based.” 

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