“Children should be taught media literacy”

Dr. Ece Kahraman Bulut focused on the significance of communication with children in digital age

Cyprus International University (CIU) Faculty of Communication, Department of Visual Communication and Design Lecturer Dr. Ece Kahraman Bulut was the invited speaker of the Istanbul Bar Association at the seminar titled "Children's Rights in the 100th Anniversary of the Republic" where she spoke about communication with children in the digital age. 
In the seminar held in the conference hall of the Istanbul Bar Association, Bulut spoke about the importance of the digital age that continues to grow in our present day and age, and underlined that when communicating with children, it is essential for the adults to first and foremost understand the digital age.
Stating that digital literacy provides individuals with digital skills, Bulut said that these skills include critical thinking, collaboration, accessing information and analyzing information easily.
Bulut also pointed out that children in our digital age are also privileged to enjoy children's rights in the online environment and said these rights include: "The right to access education, the right to be informed and to receive information, the right to participate in social life, the right to have fun and play games, the right to be heard on issues that concern them, the right to express their thoughts, the right to access health and support services." 
Stating in his speech that children are mostly unaware of these rights, Bulut said: "However, children who are not yet digitally literate and unaware of the ethical principles of the digital world are the first groups whose private spaces are violated on digital platforms."
Bulut also pointed out that it is important for parents to evaluate the content consumed by their children and noted that in this way they can contribute to the development of media literacy in children.
Not only did Bulut give advice to parents on this issue, she also stated that it would be useful to talk about the events, characters and behaviors of the characters in the fictional content and evaluate their positive and negative aspects.
Bulut also said that, depending on their age group, it is important to watch television with children instead of leaving them alone in front of the screen, and advised parents to avoid techno-neglect and to act together with children so that they can use the media more beneficially.
After opening the floor to questions and answering them, Istanbul Bar Association board member Attorney Gülderen Zerrin Kavak Yıldırım presented the speakers with the certificates of the saplings donated on behalf of the speakers to the Istanbul Bar Association’s Memorial Forest.