The Information Literacy Challenge, a nonpartisan schooling nonprofit, launched a research final week that reveals 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 awesome 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 yr.
The research — Information Literacy in America: A survey of sweet sixteen info 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 data dysfunction, this survey demonstrates that we urgently want to arrange our younger folks to discern credible information from deceptive or false info,” mentioned Information Literacy Challenge CEO and President Charles Salter. “America’s teenagers must study 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 no less than as soon as every week. Among the most frequent narratives cited embrace 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 no less than certainly one of them.
- Virtually half of teenagers (45%) assume the press does extra to hurt democracy than shield it.
- Eight in 10 say info 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 best way younger folks strategy schoolwork.
“This research underscores how vitally essential information literacy abilities are in an info surroundings dominated by social media. These platforms are house to dangerous conspiracy theories, and our outcomes present that American teenagers are usually not exempt from being uncovered to, or probably even influenced by them,” mentioned Dr. Kim Bowman, a co-author of the report. “We have to do every thing we are able to to make sure that younger folks know the right way to shield themselves from falsehoods – and this report reveals 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 may help teenagers extra efficiently navigate our info ecosystem. Among the many findings, teenagers with no less than some publicity to media literacy instruction had been extra prone to:
- interact in civic-minded actions, resembling pushing again towards misinformation.
- appropriately establish a picture that includes an actual individual versus an AI-generated likeness.
- report increased belief in information media and extra energetic information habits.
The research gives suggestions for folks and guardians, educators, policymakers and journalists to make sure college students have the data and talent to take part in civic society as well-informed, important thinkers by the point they graduate highschool.
“The Information Literacy in America report identifies that the nation’s youth need media literacy to be provided in faculties and the findings couldn’t make it any clearer that the topic must develop into a curricular precedence,” mentioned 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 research. “It ought to function a wake-up name for educating the nation’s youth concerning the worth of high quality journalism for a sustainable democracy.”
Entry the total report and downloadable graphics right here. B-roll and classroom photographs can be found upon request.
Concerning the Information Literacy Challenge
The Information Literacy Challenge 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 data and talent to take part in civic society as well-informed, important thinkers. Based in 2008, NLP is the nation’s main supplier of reports literacy schooling and works with educators in all 50 states. Be taught extra at www.newslit.org.
