Media & Popular Culture Literacies

In 2026, media and technology has influenced almost everything we do, from education to social interactions. Today, teenagers can average up to 9 or more hours of screen time daily due to the rise of social media, online games, and video streaming. Even schools are using online platforms, meaning students are almost always on some sort of device.

Social Media as a... Literacy Tool?

Social media, or forms of online communication, plays a major role in the daily lives of many teenagers and tweens (a child between the age of 8 and 12). Digital platforms, such as YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram are spaces where people of all ages read, write, interpret images and messages, and communicate ideas. As Crash Course explains, this is called media literacy, which is “the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create and act using all forms of communication” (2018).

Rather than fighting social media, educators can use it to help build literacy skills in secondary classrooms. This way, reading and writing can feel relevant and more meaningful in their everyday lives. Using social media in class might actually help students learn to think critically about the posts and videos they may encounter online.

TikTok

Using TikTok for Critical Media Analysis

One way teachers can incorporate social media into literacy instruction is by analyzing videos on TikTok, the global discovery platform for videos, live streams, shopping, and so much more. Many TikTok creators share informational content, opinions, or commentary on current events. These videos combine visuals, text, sound, and editing techniques, making them examples of multimodal texts. According to researcher Nicole Mirra, "Leveraging media and popular culture in the ELA classroom should no longer focus only on helping young people consume and analyze the texts that surround them; it must support them to compose new texts, disseminate them to the world, and invent new expressive forms for the purpose of building expansive and just social futures" (Lyiscott et al., 2021, p. 5).

Try watching some TikToks with your students. They might notice things you might not expect!

Exploring the TikTok Trend: POV Story-telling

One common trend on TikTok is POV (Point of View) videos, where the creator tells a story from a specific perspective. These videos often start with text on the screen that sets the situation, such as “POV: You are a soldier arriving home after the war” or “POV: You are the new student on the first day of school.”

This trend actually improves students' literacy skills, as it makes them think about perspective, voice, and audience, which are key elements they need to use in reading and writing.

Notice how the creator uses captions, music, and acting to communicate the character’s perspective and situation.

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ELA Classroom Connection

Point of view is a key literacy skill in middle and high school classrooms. Being able to see a story through a character’s eyes helps students practice empathy, critical thinking, and understand narratives better. A creative way to explore point of view is through a short-form TikTok-style storytime, where students recreate a scene from a character’s perspective.

In an ELA classroom, your students can first watch a short POV TikTok like the one above and discuss questions such as:

• What perspective is the creator using (1st/3rd)?

• How does the creator help the audience understand the character’s feelings or situation?

• What details make the story believable?

Literacy Activity: Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

For example, you are a middle school ELA teacher, and you are going through the historical fiction novel Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. You want to use this POV storytelling trend as a creative entry point to a mid-read or end-of-read project.

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This historical fiction novel follows Isabel, who is a young enslaved girl during the Revolutionary War. Students could focus on scenes such as:

• Isabel witnessing or experiencing injustice on the Lockton estate

  
  

• Isabel navigating dangerous situations while trying to protect her sister

  
  

• Key moments of hope, bravery, or decision-making during the Revolutionary War

Step 1: Choose a Character and Scene

Students pick a character and a pivotal scene.

Step 2: Script the POV Story

Students write a short script (30–60 seconds) from the character's first-person perspective, including:

• Inner thoughts and emotions

• Dialogue or reactions to events

• Descriptive details to help viewers understand the stakes

Step 3: Record the Storytime

Students can record their POV storytime using any device, individually or in a small group. Elements of their video might include:

• Captions for key thoughts or dialogue

• Voice-over narration to share the character's inner voice

• Background music or sound effects to set the mood

• Props or acting to enhance the storytelling

Step 4: Reflection and Discussion

After sharing their videos, students can reflect, orally or written, on questions such as:

• How does seeing the scene from Isabel’s perspective deepen your understanding of the story?

• What new emotions, motivations, or challenges did you notice?

• How might other characters view the same event differently?

Literacy Skills Practiced

This activity helps students:

• Take on perspective and empathy

  
  

• Write in first-person narrative voice

  
  

• Use textual evidence to support interpretations

  
  

• Communicate ideas in a multimodal format (visual, textual, and oral)

This activity gives students a chance to practice reading and writing from a character’s perspective, while using a format they already know and enjoy. 😁

References

CrashCourse. (2018, February 27). Introduction to Media Literacy: Crash Course Media Literacy #1. YouTube. Retrieved March 8, 2026, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD7N-1Mj-DU

Lyiscott, J., Mirra, N., & Garcia, A. (2021). Critical Media Literacy and Popular Culture in ELA Classrooms. A Policy Research Brief produced by the James R. Squire Office of the National Council of Teachers of English, 1-9. https://ncte.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SquireOfficePolicyBrief_CriticalMediaLiteracy_April2021.pdf

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Written by Teagan Ka

March 8, 2026