Children and Media: A Parent Guide to Media Literacy

Advertising, influencers and commercial messages

Young children may recognise a traditional advertisement before they understand that it is designed to persuade them. Online promotion can be harder to identify when it is woven into entertainment, games, unboxing videos, influencer posts and recommendations.

Help children ask:

• What is being sold? This might be a product, subscription, idea, lifestyle or personal brand.
• Who benefits? Consider whether the creator received money, free products, attention or data.
• What feeling is being used? Advertising may use excitement, fear of missing out, status, belonging or insecurity.
• What is missing? The price, conditions or limitations may be less visible than the promised benefit.

Point out labels such as “ad”, “sponsored” and “paid partnership”, while explaining that disclosure does not make every claim accurate. Older children can compare a recommendation with an independent source and consider how their clicks or purchases may shape future recommendations.

Algorithms and personalised feeds

Many services select content using recommender systems. Searches, pauses, likes, follows and viewing history can affect what appears next, sometimes creating a narrow, repetitive or increasingly intense feed.

Teach children that a personalised feed is not a neutral picture of what most people think. Useful actions include following varied sources, hiding unwanted recommendations, resetting history where appropriate and taking a break when the feed becomes upsetting or difficult to leave.

Misinformation and altered content

Images, audio and video can be edited, taken out of context or generated. A confident presentation, professional design or large follower count does not establish accuracy.

Before believing or sharing an important claim, encourage children to check:

1. Who published it, and can the original source be found?
2. Is there evidence, or only an emotional statement or screenshot?
3. Do reliable independent sources report the same information?
4. Is the date, location and context clear?
5. Could the image, audio or video have been altered or generated?

The level of checking should match the stakes. Health, safety, money, schoolwork and claims about another person deserve particular care.

Appearance, identity and representation

Media can broaden children’s understanding by showing varied cultures, families, bodies, abilities, interests and ways of living. It can also repeat stereotypes or present highly selected and edited images as ordinary life.

Appearance-focused content may be especially influential when a child is already comparing themselves with peers or feeling uncertain about puberty or belonging. Research has found associations with body dissatisfaction, but responses differ and many studies cannot establish simple cause and effect. School-based media-literacy programs have produced modest improvements in body image and media literacy.

Try questions that widen the frame:

• Who is represented, and who is missing?
• What might have been selected, edited, filtered or staged?
• What qualities does this message treat as valuable?
• How might different people interpret it?
• What would a more realistic or inclusive version show?

Avoid criticising another person’s body or telling a child simply not to compare. Focus on how the image was produced and the many qualities that contribute to identity, relationships and wellbeing.

News, violence and distressing events

Children can encounter frightening news through television, podcasts, school discussions, notifications and social feeds. Repeated clips can make one event feel as though it is happening again. Younger children may not understand distance, timing or replayed footage.

Ask what the child has seen before adding detail. Correct misunderstandings with brief, age-appropriate facts and limit repeated exposure, particularly before sleep. Emphasise what trusted adults, emergency services and communities are doing to help.

If a child has a personal connection to the event, has experienced trauma or is showing persistent distress, give them control over whether to continue watching and seek appropriate support.

Practical ways to build media literacy

Watch and explore together

Shared viewing gives parents a natural opportunity to notice what interests or worries a child. You do not need to comment on every message. Choose occasional moments to wonder aloud, ask a question or connect the content with real life.

Use six repeatable questions

1. Who made this?
2. What do they want the audience to think, feel, buy or do?
3. Which techniques attract attention?
4. Whose perspective is included or missing?
5. What evidence supports the message?
6. How did it affect me, and what do I want to do next?

Adapt the language to the child’s age. A preschool child might ask, “Is this part of the show or an ad?” A teenager might examine sponsorship, data collection, editing, source credibility and whose interests are served.

Choose content deliberately

Use Australian classification ratings and consumer advice as a starting point for films and games. G, PG and M are advisory classifications, while MA 15+ and R 18+ carry legal restrictions. A rating cannot tell you how a particular child will respond, so also consider themes, the child’s development and current experiences.

For broader online content, preview the creator, purpose, communication features and commercial design. Our children and technology guide covers privacy, AI, online contact and Australian social media age restrictions. The screen-time guide focuses on healthy routines and recreational screen-time recommendations.

Keep help-seeking safe

Children are more likely to bring difficult content to an adult when they expect a calm response. Thank them for showing you, check how they are feeling and decide together whether to block, report, verify or stop viewing. Avoid an automatic punishment for every mistake, particularly when the child is asking for help.

When to seek extra support

Consider speaking with a GP or psychologist when media-related distress, comparison or fear persists and begins to affect sleep, eating, learning, relationships, self-care or usual activities. Seek more urgent help if content involves threats, grooming, sexual requests, blackmail, self-harm or immediate danger. Use the eSafety Commissioner’s parent resources for current online-safety and reporting guidance, and call Triple Zero (000) if anyone is in immediate danger.

What to remember

• Media can support children and influence them in different ways.
• Teach children to examine the source, purpose, techniques and missing perspectives.
• Treat advertising, influencers and recommendations as commercial as well as creative content.
• Discuss representation and body image without making appearance the centre of a child’s value.
• Build judgement through repeated, calm conversations rather than relying on surveillance alone.