More States Are Pairing Cellphone Bans With Media Literacy Instruction

Statewide cellphone bans aren’t the only measures policymakers are taking to help schools navigate a complex digital media landscape. At least half of U.S. states have enacted laws to advance media literacy education, with 11 states passing new legislation since January 2024, according to a report released by Media Literacy Now, a nonprofit organization. State lawmakers’ push for media literacy education comes as artificial intelligence tools are increasingly being used to create fake stories and images. That content is then blasted around the globe on social media. “Schools are getting bombarded by needing to use all these different devices, by kids coming in with cellphones, by social media,” when for years they’ve mostly focused on “reading, writing, basics,” said Kyra Brissette, the CEO of Media Literacy Now. “I think we’ve outgrown our education system in that way. We need to think a little bit differently about how we’re educating students. That’s why those critical thinking skills of media literacy really would be helpful across subject areas.”