Reading, Writing, and Fake News: A Review of K–12 Digital Literacy on Social Media

Abstract

The internet and the evolution of our digital world are innate in the post-truth paradigm. Digital literacy research and instruction have never been more relevant or critical. This paper offers a systematic literature review of a decade of educational research covering digital literacy on social media. Including articles that address teachers' and students' perspectives, we synthesize digital literacy research as it has been applied through social media in K-12 education. Analysis of the studies' methods, digital platforms, settings and participants inform our thematic findings and implications for research and pedagogy. This review captures multiple gaps in the literature, but draws particular attention to the need for more teacher support and a significant lag between research coverage and social media trends.