Scientists from the British University of Columbia have found that the representatives of the Z generation trust false news than the elderly Internet users. The results of the study were published in the magazine of Personality and Individual Differences (PID).
The study was conducted through psychologists and an online special instrument, a misinformation testing test (MIST). Participants were asked to judge which of the titles that are right, which is wrong. The examples included both real and fake titles. "The government is carefully hiding its participation in the September 11 attacks," about a quarter of large US newspapers fired in 2018. "
The results showed the gap between real skills and confidence in them. Many participants overestimated their ability to distinguish truth from lies. To the surprise of scientists, the Z generation has acted on average than other age groups.
People with more conservative views were also more likely to believe in false news. Those who have extreme right views were especially vulnerable to misinformation. At the same time, they generally appreciate their capacity, which cannot be said about more radical positions.
In addition, it turned out that women are more likely to misinformation than men, but they better realize their skills level. Education also played an important role. Participants with higher education have better than others, but they tend to overestimate their abilities.
It is customary to assume that the "digital generation" has natural immunity to falsifications, but the data suggests something else. This raises the issue of the need for a systematic approach to teaching media literacy regardless of age.
Translation of: Euromedia24.com
