We Fight For The Less Privileged

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 Currently Informed

informedcurrently@gmail.com

Aryan Mukherjee



OUR STANCE ON MEDIA LITERACY


At Currently Informed, we believe that everyone should have an equitable opportunity to traverse the Internet and have access to digital media in a world where it is becoming ever more prevalent. The digital divide, or gap between those who have readily available and reliable access to the Internet and those who don’t is something that has risen by 11% in the past decade and a half, and surges from a few main factors.


For one, there is geography. Internet Service Providers simply do not have enough money and resources allocated to them by the government to extend their transmission network lines to every corner of the planet. To compensate, they just implement services in the most packed and urban places available to ultimately make as money as they can.


Additionally, there is income. In most areas of the United States, schools and libraries are lucky enough to have the funding available to provide access and lessons on media literacy to youth. Yet in less affluent regions, that luxury is scarce, and most people are unable to work towards understanding the intricacies behind social media and technology in general.


This is problematic for a multitude of reasons. For one, social media is a dark and scary place. In the past, gimmicks such as the Blue Whale Challenge and Bird Box Challenge have resulted in thousands of deaths, primarily amongst youth and adolescents. Additionally, malware is an extremely prevalent threat within already existing operating systems, so those who do have access to the Internet but have not had the education to know what to look out for may be led awry into potential loss of millions of bits of data and personal information.


In the past, bills such as Assembly Bill 873 have been proposed to try and alleviate the ongoing crisis. But as is mentioned in the embedded link for it, efforts simply are not enough. This is why we at Currently Informed are striving to pass something different, something better than ever before- something to hopefully lead towards a future where nobody ever gets themselves hurt or killed because they didn’t know what lay ahead of them after every click and scroll.

Stated herself when asked about the matter, founder Kashish Sachdeva of our organization sums up our stance and goals as pointedly so:


"As the founder of Currently Informed, I'm driven to empower individuals with the knowledge and skills to navigate the digital landscape safely. In a world where challenges like the Blue Whale Challenge and online scams target our youth, it becomes imperative for us to champion social media literacy. Our commitment is not just a statement of support but a proactive step towards fostering a community that is informed, vigilant, and resilient in the face of online threats."

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