The Information Literacy Undertaking, a nonpartisan training nonprofit, launched a examine final week that exhibits the alarming frequency with which American youngsters are uncovered to – and consider – conspiracy theories on social media. However the analysis additionally discovered that instructing college students media literacy is related to wholesome on-line habits like fact-checking earlier than sharing on social media.
And an amazing majority of teenagers surveyed (94%) need their faculties to show media literacy, though simply 39% reported having had any such instruction in the course of the 2023-24 faculty 12 months.
The examine — Information Literacy in America: A survey of adlescent data attitudes, habits & abilities — surveyed greater than 1,000 younger folks aged 13-18 and highlights the urgent want for systemic information literacy instruction in our nation’s faculties. It was launched to coincide with the primary day of U.S. Media Literacy Week.
“As we head into the ultimate stretch of an election season outlined by the unfold of knowledge dysfunction, this survey demonstrates that we urgently want to arrange our younger folks to discern credible information from deceptive or false data,” stated Information Literacy Undertaking CEO and President Charles Salter. “America’s teenagers must be taught information literacy abilities to allow them to be extra knowledgeable voters of the long run.”
Among the many findings:
- Eight in 10 American youngsters say they see conspiracy theories on social media at the least as soon as every week. A number of the most frequent narratives cited embody the 2020 election being rigged or stolen, the COVID-19 vaccine being harmful and the Earth being flat.
- Of these teenagers who reported seeing conspiracy theories, 81% report that they consider at the least one among them.
- Virtually half of teenagers (45%) suppose the press does extra to hurt democracy than defend it.
- Eight in 10 say data from information organizations isn’t any extra neutral than different content material creators on-line.
- Lower than one quarter of teenagers (23%) say they use generative synthetic intelligence chatbots as soon as every week or extra, difficult the notion that AI instruments have already upended the way in which younger folks strategy schoolwork.
“This examine underscores how vitally vital information literacy abilities are in an data setting dominated by social media. These platforms are dwelling to dangerous conspiracy theories, and our outcomes present that American teenagers will not be exempt from being uncovered to, or probably even influenced by them,” stated Dr. Kim Bowman, a co-author of the report. “We have to do every part we are able to to make certain that younger folks know the right way to defend themselves from falsehoods – and this report exhibits that our college students are emphatically asking for media literacy to be taught in faculties.”
There have been additionally causes to be inspired that media literacy instruction will help teenagers extra efficiently navigate our data ecosystem. Among the many findings, teenagers with at the least some publicity to media literacy instruction had been extra more likely to:
- have interaction in civic-minded actions, akin to pushing again in opposition to misinformation.
- appropriately determine a picture that includes an actual individual versus an AI-generated likeness.
- report larger belief in information media and extra lively information habits.
The examine offers suggestions for folks and guardians, educators, policymakers and journalists to make sure college students have the information and skill to take part in civic society as well-informed, crucial thinkers by the point they graduate highschool.
“The Information Literacy in America report identifies that the nation’s youth need media literacy to be supplied in faculties and the findings couldn’t make it any clearer that the topic must turn out to be a curricular precedence,” stated Dr. Lance Holbert, Director of the Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics (LAIC) on the Annenberg Public Coverage Middle on the College of Pennsylvania, who was not concerned within the examine. “It ought to function a wake-up name for educating the nation’s youth in regards to the worth of high quality journalism for a sustainable democracy.”
Entry the complete report and downloadable graphics right here. B-roll and classroom pictures can be found upon request.
Concerning the Information Literacy Undertaking
The Information Literacy Undertaking is a nonpartisan nonprofit constructing a nationwide motion to make sure that all college students are expert in information literacy earlier than highschool commencement, giving them the information and skill to take part in civic society as well-informed, crucial thinkers. Based in 2008, NLP is the nation’s main supplier of stories literacy training and works with educators in all 50 states. Be taught extra at www.newslit.org.
