dp::timeline + media literacy

How can an interactive web-based community empower high school students to break from commercial mass production and develop their own unique visual identities?

High school students are my primary audience for this project, but can include  college freshmen as well. Students in this grade range are developing their own sense of identity, specifically who they are, their likes and dislikes, etc.  Regardless of whether or not we admit it, we are all influenced by something. But all people these days are influenced by one main force: the media. Teenagers are often their main focus because they're still developing their own ideas and are slowly allowing those thoughts to steer their lives in the direction of their choice. ("Virgins of thought" some call them.) One major example of media manipulation is the idea of "having a right look."

During my initial round of surveys, I asked high school students: "What does identity mean to you?" and "What do you associate with identity?" OR "What are you favorite brands?" and "WHY do you buy the brand names you do?"

A majority of their responses were often directed towards material objects that they desired: Louis Vuitton purses, Gucci accessories, clothing, etc. Acquiring these name brands seemed to be an important goal for them. A survey of magazines and/or blogs they subscribed to consisted of numerous fashion publications, etc. The problem here seems to be a lack of media literacy. Media literacy is the process of analyzing and evaluating messages in their wide variety of forms. It helps to encourage people to ask questions about what they watch, hear, and read. More importantly, an understanding of the media can help students critically analyze messages to detect propaganda, censorship and bias.

So how can design help to teach teenagers about media manipulation and encourage them to become more visually literate? In order to achieve this, I plan on developing an interactive community which can help to educate teens about the media, and encourage them to forge their own identities. I want this to be more than just a collection of educational articles though. I want the final artifact to facilitate dialogue between its readers, and encourage the exchange of independent ideas.