News Literacy in America: A Survey of Teens

Source: www.pexels.com

By Sam Piha 

“American teens spend an average of nearly five hours a day on social media. This isn’t entirely surprising, since these platforms are designed to be enticing and endlessly engaging. Billions of people scroll through personalized streams of content on these platforms, immersing themselves in a torrential — and often confusing — mix of entertainment, ads, news, rumors and more. The temptation to keep scrolling is not accidental; it’s intentional and fueled by a constant influx of new content that is distributed by algorithms designed to target each user.” – News Literacy in America 

According to Google’s AI Overview, “In such a complex information environment, it is crucial for young people to have the knowledge and skills to critically evaluate information, discern fact from fiction, identify reliable sources, and navigate digital spaces with discernment to make informed decisions and avoid misinformation. 

Key points about this skillset:

• Media literacy: Understanding how media operates, recognizing bias, and evaluating information presented through different formats (news articles, social media posts, videos). 
• Source evaluation: Assessing the credibility of information providers based on their expertise, affiliations, and potential motives. 
• Digital literacy: Effectively searching for information online, using appropriate search strategies, and understanding the limitations of digital platforms. 
• Critical thinking: Analyzing information objectively, considering different perspectives, and identifying logical fallacies. 
• Fact-checking: Verifying information through credible sources and identifying potential misinformation. 

Why is this important for young people?

• Combating misinformation: The abundance of online information makes it easier for false or misleading content to spread, which can have significant consequences for individuals and society. 
• Informed decision-making: Being able to accurately assess information is vital for making responsible choices in personal and civic life. 
• Active citizenship: Critical information consumption allows young people to engage in meaningful discussions and participate in democratic processes.” 

What is “news literacy”? 

The News Literacy Project states that, “News literacy is the ability to determine the credibility of news and other information and to recognize the standards of fact-based journalism to know what to trust, share and act on.”

TEEN SURVEY FINDINGS

In their report, News Literacy in America, NLP surveyed 1,110 American teenagers ages 13-18 to learn about their information attitudes, habits and skills and assess the state of news literacy education in the United States.

According to this report some of their findings include: 

1.“Teens want media literacy instruction included in their education, but most aren’t getting it. 



An overwhelming majority of teens (94%) say that schools should be required to teach media literacy. Despite widespread support among teens, we found little evidence that schools were already providing media literacy instruction. Only 39% of teens report having had any media literacy instruction in at least one class during the 2023-24 school year. 

2. Regardless of age, teens struggle to distinguish between different types of information. 
Half of teens can identify a branded content article as an advertisement, 52% can identify an article with 'commentary' in the headline as an opinion and 59% can recognize that Google search results under the label “sponsored” indicate paid advertising. But less than 2in 10 teens (18%) correctly answered all three questions asking them to distinguish between different types of information. Results were not significantly different by age groups, meaning older teens are generally no better at demonstrating this foundational news literacy skill than younger teens. 

3. Nearly half of teens think the press does more to harm democracy than protect it. 
Just over half of teens (55%) say that journalists do more to protect democracy, while 45% say journalists do more to harm democracy. Two groups stand out as being particularly likely to say journalists protect democracy: teens who actively seek out news to stay informed (68%) and teens with high trust in news media (82%). 

4. About two-thirds of teens are not concerned about the sharp decline in the number of news organizations in recent decades. 

5. Many teens are at least somewhat trusting of news media, but still perceive high levels of bias in the news. 
Most teens (65%) gave at least some trusting responses to the three survey questions that make up our news media trust index; however, only 8% responded to all three questions with trusting responses. Teens who say they had at least some media literacy instruction in at least one class are especially likely to have at least some trust in news media (73% with medium or high trust). The two questions that received the most distrusting responses from teens were both about news media bias. Nearly 7 in 10 teens (69%) believe that news organizations intentionally add bias to coverage to advance a specific perspective.

6. Most teens on social media encounter conspiracy theories and are inclined to believe one or more of them. 



Source: www.pexels.com 

Eight in 10 teens on social media say they see posts that spread or promote conspiracy theories, but the frequency of their exposure varies. Twenty percent of teens who use social media report seeing these posts in their feeds daily, 31% report seeing them weekly and 29% report seeing them less than once a week. Many of the conspiracy theories teens report seeing go well beyond harmless superstitions. They include narratives such as the Earth being flat, the 2020 election being rigged or stolen, and COVID-19 vaccines being dangerous. While teens on social media aren’t necessarily inclined to believe every conspiracy theory they encounter, an overwhelming majority of those who report seeing a conspiracy theory on social media (81%) say they are inclined to believe one or more of them. 

7. Few teens are regular users of generative artificial intelligence technologies, and many are skeptical of the information they produce. 

8. While few teens tend to seek out news, those who do are more likely to also have other healthy news habits.” 

MORE ABOUT...

The News Literacy Project is a nonpartisan nonprofit building a national movement to ensure that all students are skilled in news literacy before high school graduation, giving them the knowledge and ability to participate in civic society as well- informed, critical thinkers. Founded in 2008, NLP is the country’s leading provider of news literacy education and works with educators in all 50 states.



For more information, visit newslit.org or contact them at info@newslit.org. 

Response To Meta’s Decision To End Fact-Checking

Source: www.pexels.com

In previous LIAS blogs we have been highlighting the importance of digital/ news literacy to decipher misinformation. Below is a response by the News Literacy Project (NLP) on Meta’s recent decision to end fact-checking on their platforms. To view their original statement, click here.

 

Guest Blog from The News Literacy Project

In response to the announcement that Meta will end fact-checking on Instagram, Facebook and Threads, the News Literacy Project released the following statement:

Meta is removing measures that mitigate the spread of false, harmful information on their platforms, and social media users will suffer because of it. These users already are vulnerable to manipulation by malicious actors promoting unreliable sources and information engineered to exploit our cognitive biases, including the desire to confirm our preexisting ideas and beliefs.

“This move demonstrates that Meta has largely given up on moderation efforts that remind people of the facts and encourage people to seek out credible, standards-based sources of information. Productive, respectful civic discourse requires moderation and agreed-upon principles – like civility, an acknowledgement of strong evidence and an acceptance of facts. This kind of responsible moderation is not ‘censorship,’ it provides the foundation for honest, fact-based discourse,” said Peter Adams, Senior Vice President of Research and Design at the News Literacy Project.

“Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to end Meta’s fact-checking program not only removes a valuable resource for users, but it also provides an air of legitimacy to a popular disinformation narrative: That fact-checking is politically biased. Fact-checkers provide a valuable service by adding important context to the viral claims that mislead and misinform millions of users on Meta,” said Dan Evon, lead writer for RumorGuard®, the News Literacy Project’s digital tool that curates fact checks and teaches people to spot viral misinformation.

The News Literacy Project’s public policy statements call on social media companies to:

• Provide and enforce clear community standards.
• Pursue the removal of malicious accounts, including those dedicated to pushing extremism and disinformation.
• Design adjustment of algorithms to reduce the spread of misinformation, promote credible information, and help reverse political division and polarization.

You may also be interested in NLP’s TikTok on this topic: https://www.tiktok.com/@newslitproject/video/7457651435069689134

MORE ABOUT...

The News Literacy Project is a nonpartisan nonprofit building a national movement to ensure that all students are skilled in news literacy before high school graduation, giving them the knowledge and ability to participate in civic society as well-informed, critical thinkers. Founded in 2008, NLP is the country’s leading provider of news literacy education and works with educators in all 50 states. Learn more at newslit.org.

 

Youth and News Literacy

By Sam Piha

Over the past two decades afterschool programs have invested in equity issues around digital access. We have built and expanded computer labs and instruction on how to use the internet, which many young people depend on to get their news. However, many have not trained staff how to help youth become news-literate.

A news-literate student is empowered to be reliably informed. They recognize the differences between news and opinion, identify misinformation, apply fact-checking and logic-checking tools and recognize cognitive biases. They prioritize information from verified sources of news and information to be active and engage in the civic life of their communities.

The News Literacy Project is a nonpartisan national education nonprofit, providing programs and resources for educators and the public to teach, learn and share the abilities needed to be smart, active consumers of news and information and equal and engaged participants in a democracy. John Silva is their Senior Director of Education and Training. Below are some of John's responses to a recent interview. 

Q: What is "News Literacy"?

A: The ability to determine the credibility of news and other content, to identify different types of information, and to use the standards of authoritative, fact-based journalism to determine what to trust, share and act on.

Q: Why is it important now for youth?

A: Our vision is to see news literacy embedded in the American education experience, and people of all ages and backgrounds know how to identify credible news and other information, empowering them to have an equal opportunity to participate in the civic life of their communities and the country.

Q: Do you have a newsletter?

A: We have three actually. You can learn more about them and subscribe at https://newslit.org/subscribe/

Q: Does your organization offer trainings for youth programs?

A: We offer professional learning for educators across subject areas, grade levels and educational environments.

John Silva is the News Literacy Project’s Senior Director of Education and Training. He joined NLP in March 2017 with 13 years of experience as a middle and high school social studies teacher with Chicago Public Schools. He first became involved with news literacy in 2014 when his students engaged in NLP’s original classroom program. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, John spent several years in corporate telecommunications positions before deciding to become a teacher.