The Power and Possibilities for Young Viewers of Reality Television when Educators and Researchers Partner Together for Critical Media Literacy

Young people are inundated with all forms of media on a regular basis, including social media sites, television, music, movies, and literature.  These forms of media often go unquestioned in the traditional classroom, as the United States does not value instruction in critical media literacy.  This paper explicates the need for critical media literacy in the classroom through interviews with pre-teens and teenagers about their interactions with all forms of media, and questions how a university-school partnership might bring about change in the classroom.