Balancing PLN, Media Literacy, & Public Discourse

When thinking about media literacy, the first thing that comes to mind is being told when I was younger to never trust Wikipedia. It’s not that Wikipedia was wrong per se, but the information (especially on smaller articles) was not necessarily verified. Teachers instilled in me to never cite it or trust its information without verifying through further research. Nowadays, I have seen students just google something for their essay and trust (dare I say copy) the AI search result. I think that media literacy is probably the most important skill of the digital age.

Media literacy is the ability to create and understand media effectively and through a critical lens (Trilling & Fadel, 2009). In a time where news spreads though social media, it is more important than ever for us to be developing and teaching media literacy skills and reducing the amount of people who trust content online without verifying if its true or not, using three questions that the MediaSmarts video provides:

I learned a lot about media literacy when I was in school. From grade 6 to 8 we had a class called Data where we learned everything from proper (and timed) typing on a keyboard to how to properly research, cite, and understand the biases articles we read online. However, one thing it never prepared me for is the boom of AI image and video generation. The MediaSmarts video hammered this home: when trying to guess which animal picture was real and which was fake, I was completely lost.

With the explosion of social media, it’s clear that notable individuals no longer use social accounts as a digital diary. Celebrities and influencers no longer rely on television and thus tv networks, crews, and producers to get in the public eye. Now, they can simply create an Instagram account and blow up over a single reel.

The biggest point that stands out to me when I think about how celebrities are using social media is how they capitalize on a manipulable audience to sell a product. Usually, not their own product. Often, not a product they would ever use or recommend. When social media is a job, money becomes a priority, and it becomes difficult to distinguish authentic opinions from sponsored content.

Simultaneously, having an online platform reaps many benefits, allowing people to use social media for education and outreach. One stand out for me is Dr Mike Varshavski, a doctor who uses his online presence to educate and debunk health myths. My mom loves him.

A reliable PLN is cornerstone to working in the public eye. In her interview, Sophie Liu mentioned that, when first getting into the industry, she would reach out to and meet with older experts in her field to go out for coffee and pick their brain (Interview with Sophie Liu, 2026). An effective PLN would look like exposing yourself to diverse viewpoints, but promoting verifiable information supported by credible research. Oftentimes, people with low media literacy skills interpret the search for truth as a personal attack (flat earthers…anti-evolution…pro-billionaires…etc.) which leads to conflict as they associate their beliefs with their identity. This is why it is so important to have a PLN which values media literacy and puts it at the forefront of communication and learning.

The interview with Sophie Liu addressed both the risks and benefits of engaging with an audience online. She mentioned that, while social media has given her a “wider intellectual world,” it has also vastly increased the amount of anonymous hate she receives and the amount of people who experience her mess up (Interview with Sophie Liu). She mentions that, back in the age of cold calling and the Yellow Pages, viewers had to call in to complain, often calling her to complain about herself. Nowadays, hate speech is far too common online that she feels the need to distance herself from social platforms. Her point on social media making it so that a small mistake can travel the web reminded me of the classic DeeDee MegaDooDoo video, where even I have contributed to the virality of a mistake.

A quote that stood out to me from the interview with Sophie Liu is “How much am I willing to give to the public?” (In the Public Eye, 2026). This reminded me of just how accessible and personable public figures are expected to be today. Parasocial relationships are created and fed by both fans and celebrities alike. Think Taylor Swift, and the “Swifties” who may revolve their lives around her life because they feel connected to her on a personal level.

When public figures work in a position of trust, the stakes are raised again. When a workplace defines your digital identity, hobbies and events determine whether or not you’re good at your job. Even if the hobby has nothing to do with your job! For educators especially, they are expected to be modest and express a modest digital identity. In reality, teachers are in their 20s and at the bar and hitting up raves and posting content like that online attracts hate. It makes me think about the history of teaching, back less than 100 years ago when teachers were not allowed to be married or courting lest they lose their job. This same standard of incapability of teaching and having a life still exists today, especially among female teachers. For example, @hey_missteacher on instagram posts daily outfit checks, and hate comments are rampant in her comment section, praying for her to get fired over…liking fashion.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSQ5U9TgVB9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Personally, if I were to create a public account where I have an audience, I would choose to keep as much of myself out of it as possible. The less fans know, the less they can hate on, and the less information can be used against me. Think, Tame Impala:

PLN & Education

Rather than relying on professional development opportunities, educators all around the world can now create discourse through social media. From engaging in simple conversations to exchanging lessons and research, social media allows educators to broaden their PLN and stay in touch with those connections. Alec Couros outlines the strategies for developing a PLN (Couros, 2010):

1. Immerse yourself by using social media to grow an understanding of how it works and how it can be utilized in a variety of ways.
2. Strengthen PLN connections through both sharing content/resources and commenting on the content shared by others.
3. Get to know the people within your PLN, their backgrounds, skills, and expertise.

However, the speed of which things travel on social media can limit the effectiveness of digital platforms. I remember when there was a trend of having “minimalist classrooms,” where everything was beige. What kind of 5 year old wants to spend everyday in a completely beige room? Social media favours virality, creating an environment where best practice can be tossed out the window in favour of a fad.

I think social media definitely gets a bad reputation from an educational perspective. For example, social media propagates slang more than anything else I’ve seen. Harry Dyer mentions in his TEDTalk that social media is often looked at as something causing a downword trend in language, with slang like lowkirkuinely (lowkey+charlie kirk+genuinely) being used widely in social spheres (Dyer, 2016). While some educators look at this as “brainrot,” I see it as people online using language to its fullest extent, both creatively and critically. As society changes and progresses, “language survives and thrives and evolves” (Dyer, 2016).

Unfortunately, vulnerable people are taken advantage of on social media. Too many elders get scammed online and, with the boom of AI, this is only going to get worse. It is so important that we not only educate our students, but also our grandparents and older members of the community. They never got the chance to learn about the internet or digital identities or social media, so it is our job to share our knowledge and help out the older people around us, even if it’s as simple as helping someone figure out how to use a loyalty card (I used to be a “Scene Plus Ambassador” and that was basically my whole job).

In sum, a PLN is about participating in spaces that increase your learning. Being media-literate encourages life-long learning and ensures we won’t get stuck in an echo chamber where untrue beliefs about the world become tied to our identity as people. Media literacy is not a surplus skill, but something that needs to be taught not only in school, but in community gatherings and spaces where vulnerable people live and visit.