2. Who Cares?
We care a lot in this world. We care about our families, our friends, and issues that matter to us. We care about fairness, justice, and equity. We care about our environment, our possessions, and our health. In short, we have a lot to care about.
Media helps reinforce all the ways we care—from supporting causes to donating resources to initiatives that we want to succeed.
We signal caring through media as well: liking, retweeting, posting, sharing, and affiliating with groups and organizations. We also care by donating time, resources, and energy to be present, to help others, and to help the environments we live in.
So, how is care a part of our media literacy experiences? And what role can caring have in building more equitable media literacy practices?
Scholar Joan Tronto defines several forms of "caring," three of which are:
Caring about - How we signal affiliation towards ideas, issues, and people
Caring for - How we take action towards others/things that matter
Caring with - How our practices support inclusive, strong, and healthy democracies
How we build a culture of care in media literacy practices can greatly impact how we see media messages work in the world and how we develop relationships with others in learning and community settings.
Questions to Consider For Care-Based Media Literacy Practice
What do we care about? How do we signal caring about?
What ways do we care for? How do we signal caring for?
Can we “care with” in digital environments? Why or Why not?
Exploring Care: Three Approaches
1. Caring About v. Caring For
In media literacy learning experiences, we ask ourselves to continuously reflect on how media represent issues we care about and how we can use media to care about and care for those issues. In this prompt, differentiate between how we “care about” issues versus how we “care for” issues using media.
Using the t-chart below, select an issue to discuss (environment, health, education, media, etc.).
At the top of T-chart, place the issue.
Caring About
On the “caring about” side, list all the ways that we signal our support for or against issues through media. This could be tweeting, liking, signing petitions, etc. After creating the list, reflect on the following questions: What is valuable about this type of caring? What are the potential problems with these types of actions?
Caring For
On the “caring for” side, list all the ways that we use media to build meaningful relationships with the issues we care about. What time, energy and resources would we need to devote to support this issue? After populating this list, reflect on the differences between caring about and caring for? What are the potential benefits and risks of caring for in digital spaces?
2. Caring with others
Once we differentiate caring about from caring for, we can explore how we “care with”, which incorporates “democratic commitments to justice, equality and freedom for all” - Joan Tronto.
Complete the following prompt for a Statement on Caring With:
Caring with others means we must both signal (care about) and act (care for).
Look at both sides of your t-chart. Based on what you included, how can you care with others you have in mind?
In a short reflection (using whatever method you chose), share how you can care with others.
Then, think about how caring with others can be applied to media. If our goal is “democratic commitments to justice, equality, and freedom for all,” then we need to share how we think that is possible. In one sentence or image, express how this is possible. How can we use media to care with others?
3. Caring Ladder
Clearly delineating how we care about, for, and with can help us better see the ways we can use media to support the ideas and issues we value.
The final prompt asks you to develop a ladder of care, where you are able to show how you can use media to care about, care for, and care with issues that matter.
Start with the bottom of the ladder. What should your first step be? Think about how on a real ladder the first rung is the most important. Without that foundation, one cannot climb any higher. In a sense, without it, it would be impossible to achieve your ultimate goal of achieving justice, equality, and freedom for all.
As you go up the ladder, building more rungs, think about how each step you chose builds to the next. And with each step we should be getting closer to using media to support equity and justice for all.
Once you reach the top, what did you accomplish? What did your ladder reach? Why does this end goal matter to you? Why should others see this end as important?
Lastly, reflect: how did you move from caring about and for to caring with? How do you think media can be used to achieve justice, equality, and freedom for all?
Using Care in Your Media Literacy Learning Environment [Template]
IT'S YOUR TURN!
Using the template here, create your own media literacy learning experiences around the following learning goals:
- How can we use care-based approaches to help learners use media to meaningfully care about issues and people?
- How can we use care-based approaches to help learners develop the resources and mindsets to care for and care with people in lived environments?
- How can we develop a culture of care for media literacy learning environments through an emphasis on relationships?
Template for Your Care Workshop
Time Needed:
Materials Needed:
Part One: Introducing Care
Part Two: Core Activities [use from above or create your own!]
Part Three: Debrief [what questions do you want your learners to reflect on after this experience]
Part Four: Educator Reflection