Do young people think critically today?
Presentation of the report "Media Literacy Education: the results of the workshop and survey, published in June by the international project consortium YouTHink: Media and Information Literacy for Young People’. It provides an analysis of workshops and an online survey conducted between January and March in five European countries (Lithuania, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Switzerland). According to the report, media and information literacy (MIR) is more relevant and important than ever before in the field of knowledge development.
Critical Thinking Gaps and Vulnerability to Disinformation
While young people today tend to think they can critically evaluate information online and on social media, their real habits point to gaps in critical thinking. According to the report, 91% of Respondents aged 14-19 tend to be critical of online information and ‘sometimes’ or ‘rarely’ believe in everything they see or read in the digital world. However, 53% of young people admit to ‘sometimes’ believing what they see, and 29% rely on ‘common sense’ to check information that is not always based on objective data and facts. And in fact, with too much self-confidence, young people can be vulnerable and become victims of manipulation.
It is encouraging that 31% of respondents rely on multiple sources to verify information, while 23% analyse the source of information. However, this is not a particularly high number of respondents. Asked by young people what are the biggest challenges in assessing the reliability of sources, young people indicated that they still struggle to understand whether a source is reliable (41%) and to distinguish opinion from facts (28%). It can be argued that these challenges would not be as relevant to a large number of young people if their critical thinking skills were stronger.
Internet browsing habits and risks
Another worrying phenomenon is related to the peculiarities of young people browsing the Internet. More than half of respondents, 58%, said they spend more than 3 hours a day online. The most popular browsing platforms are YouTube (21%), Instagram (20%), TikTok (18%) and Snapchat (14%). An analysis of how young people get information about world events shows that social networks are not only a platform for communication, but also a main source of information for young people. 35% of respondents receive information from social media and only 21% from parents. These facts raise some concerns.
While social media platforms are fighting disinformation and removing misinformation, the risk of young people encountering liars or entering echo rooms remains real.
Challenges of Media Literacy
Summarizing the discussions that took place during the workshop, the report highlights the deepening crisis of trust in information sources, the underestimation of expertise, and the lack of personal responsibility and value attitudes in the digital space. The report mentions changes in writing and reading habits, the disappearance of the concept of authorship and the superficial use of information. The report also criticises current media literacy education, which is often limited to technical skills and does not develop a holistic understanding of the media ecosystem and its functioning. Finally, the report highlights the blurring of the line between the virtual and the physical world and the loss of a culture of debate among young people, which poses new challenges to media literacy education.
Risks of Artificial Intelligence to Critical Thinking
Today, artificial intelligence (AI) technology is changing the rules of the game across the information field. There are also concerns that young people are not sufficiently aware of the dangers of AI, i.e. disinformation, liars, deep fakes, echo rooms created by algorithms on social networks, etc. Despite the concerns expressed, participants in the debate understand that AI is an integral part of the modern world, so it is important not to avoid it, but to develop young people’s ability to critically use AI tools and the content they create.
How to develop media and information literacy skills and critical thinking?
It is not easy to answer the question of what to do, but the report concludes that teaching today is not enough on its own, but requires a common understanding of how media work. This means that a young person must be able to understand the whole chain of information: how the message is shaped, what its source is, what its technical and social environment is, who it serves and what impact it has. Young people not only need to be able to communicate, but also to learn to be personalities, not a part of the mass that is easy to influence. It is noticeable that MIR topics often seem "boring", "too far from the reality of young people", so it is necessary to look for forms that are relevant, understandable and inclusive for young people.
About Creative Workshops and Survey
This report was drawn up on the basis of an analysis of the workshops held and a survey carried out in five European countries (Lithuania, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Switzerland) between January and March. 40 multidisciplinary professionals working with young people, developing curricula and participating in media and information literacy education were invited to the creative discussions. During the discussion, participants shared their thoughts on the most relevant trends and challenges in media and information literacy. They discussed the expectations and needs of young people in this context, as well as the impact of artificial intelligence on critical thinking, and explored which innovative methods and tools are best suited to develop youth media literacy. During the youth survey, more than 200 14-19 year old respondents from the above mentioned countries were interviewed by means of a remote questionnaire. The anonymous survey consisted of questions aimed at clarifying young people's browsing habits on the Internet, ways of checking information and the challenges they face when assessing information in the virtual space.
The YouThink project is funded under the Erasmus+ Partnerships for Cooperation in the Youth field.
The report is available in English here.
The project is funded by the European Union. However, the views or opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Youth Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
