4102425 1104942 4102425 3751 ucf-events https://events.ucf.edu/calendar/3751/ucf-events/ Thu, 23 Apr 2026 18:00:00 -0400 Thu, 23 Apr 2026 19:00:00 -0400

US United States

en-US In this webinar, Rachel Besharat Mann presents findings from her recent article, Navigating Digital Realities, published in the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. Drawing on qualitative research with young people, the study examines how adolescents engage with social media as a primary source of news, political information, and identity exploration. Rather than positioning youth as passive consumers or victims of misinformation, this research highlights the nuanced, strategic, and emotionally complex ways young people interpret, evaluate, and incorporate digital content into their developing civic and personal identities.

The session will explore how algorithms, peer networks, and platform affordances shape meaning-making processes, and what this means for educators seeking to support critical digital literacy and civic engagement. Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of adolescents’ lived digital experiences and practical considerations for classroom instruction in an era where identity formation and political learning increasingly unfold online.

Presenter:
Dr. Rachel Besharat Mann, Associate Professor of the Practice of Education Studies, College of Education Studies, Weslyan University https://www.wesleyan.edu/about/directory/profile.html?id=remann

]]> https://events.ucf.edu/event/4102425/scrolling-toward-identity-how-young-people-make-meaning-from-news-and-politics-online/ Vicky Zygouris-Coe, Professor vzygouri@ucf.edu Speaker/Lecture/Seminar College of Community Innovation & EducationEducationLiteracy SymposiumLiteracySchool of Teacher Education Happening As Scheduled Public