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It’s no surprise that 96% of young Europeans, aged 16-24, use the web on a regular basis. As the Digital News Report shows, young people rely more on social platforms for their news than on news websites. These online spaces are a battleground of false and misleading data: around 47% of EU citizens observe false and questionable data on social media and online news sites.
Joyce Vissenberg, a researcher at KU Leuven, says: “In fact, it is on social media platforms that disinformation and disinformation is shared the most. It is understandable to be concerned about the exposure of young people and other young people to misinformation and disinformation. “
“Having virtual capabilities is vital in today’s virtual society, especially for virtual inclusion,” Vissenberg adds. “A lack of virtual capabilities can reduce opportunities for participation. »
As part of UNESCO’s World Media and Information Literacy Week 2023, The Fix looks at tactics for media literacy among young Europeans. As Vissenberg describes: “Although media literacy cannot save young people from being exposed to false data online, it is invaluable in preventing them from believing and being deceived by false data. “
Young people tend to rely on social media for news, and it’s very likely that this organization will also prefer select outlets with broader, more attenuated topics.
Despite consuming information through online platforms, young people are even less likely to do so. Vissenberg explains, “For example, studies revealed a certain paradox of ‘accepting as true’: while social media is the most popular way to keep up with the news, young people and other young people on average say they are less accepting of social media when they are informed about the news. It is reliable news content, compared to other news resources and channels such as TV, radio, or online newspapers.
As a component of the ySKILLS (Youth Skills) project, Vissenberg and other researchers studied the point of virtual qualifications offered in six schools in Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland and Portugal. Their research found that young people “feel less confident about their talents for comparing information. “
Another assignment titled “Improving Youth Media Literacy for Civic Engagement” explored how young adults (ages 18-29) in Finland, Norway, and Romania use media for their civic engagement. Their findings highlighted similar trends.
Sharon Laine, a researcher on the project, says: “The level of media literacy among young adults in Finland, Norway and Romania is sometimes high, indicating that they are talented in responsibilities such as identifying, searching and managing data in a virtual environment. . environment, but they feel less confident when creating content responsibly.
The media literacy of young Europeans is good. However, there is a gap when it comes to online content creation. To improve those skills, The Fix has compiled a list of games that can help young people learn media literacy in a fun and engaging way. .
Bad News Game allows the user to perceive disinformation techniques. The player takes on the role of a fake news maker and produces tweets that involve multiple disinformation tactics such as spoofing, conspiracy, polarization, etc. Created through the Dutch media collective DROG and the University of Cambridge, it uses the inoculation theory that makes the player resistant to disinformation tactics.
Similar to the game Bad News, Go Viral! It also uses inoculation theory to make other people resist misinformation about Covid-19. Here too, the player takes on the role of promoter of fake medical news similar to the pandemic.
In this game, the player works in the disinformation and propaganda unit of a totalitarian regime. Every selection the player makes aims to satisfy the leader and convert the opinion of the masses.
Created through Google, Play Interland aims to give confidence to young web users. It teaches them how to avoid falling for fake news, how to share data responsibly, how to stay in virtual spaces and much more.
Fakey is like a social media news feed where players can “share,” “like,” or “fact-check” a recent news story. This game allows the player to detect and determine incorrect information. The more incorrect information the player can detect, the greater their “skill” in the game.
Photo via Riho Kroll on Unsplash.
This article was originally published on The Fix and is republished on IJNet with permission.