Hi everyone! I’m Maria, 20 years old, from Brazil. Through a fellowship with the Dartmouth Center for Social Impact, I’m helping JAM to develop its media literacy and digital citizenship education—not just teaching people how to use media, but how to live with it.
This blog is meant to be a safe space where both young people and adults—from our upcoming Youth Media Advisory Board to the folks who come to JAM events—can share and reflect on what media really means in their lives.
Because let’s be honest: five years apart in media habits today can feel like a full generation gap. I see it all the time at JAM. A teenager and a parent might both say they’re “on social media,” but they’re not even imagining the same universe.
We want to document those differences. Not just complain about how “things have changed,” but really understand the many ways people experience media today—whether it’s learning, storytelling, connecting, or navigating risks. Yes, when people hear “media,” fears often come up first. Anonymity. Viral misinformation. Privacy risks. Those concerns are real. But does that mean media is some monster we should fear or avoid?
I don’t think so. Media isn’t just viral trends or cat videos (even though, let’s be honest, cat videos are essential for surviving long days). It’s how we connect, create, and express who we are.
Here at JAM, we use online tutorials constantly. They’ve saved us more times than I can count—especially when we’re teaching filmmaking techniques like stop motion or animation. But beyond skills, media helps us build bridges. I can tell you from personal experience: without media, how would a girl growing up in a small town in Brazil even discover a place like Hanover, NH?
So no, media isn’t a beast to tame. It’s a space—sometimes messy, sometimes brilliant, sometimes overwhelming—where we’re all trying to figure things out.
And that’s what this blog is for: to figure it out together!