Teenagers have a problem distinguishing true from false information regarding health, psychologists from the Slovak Academy of Sciences and the Comenius University in Bratislava found in recent research.
The researchers tested 300 secondary school students, aged 16 to 19. They found that just 48 percent of them could identify true information. Teenagers were asked to assess if seven short articles on the health benefits of fruits and vegetables were true or fake.
Unexpected, scientists admit
“Adolescents often use the internet, that’s why we usually expect they are able to obtain and use online information. However, it seems, the opposite is true,” Radomír Masaryk, psychologist and research leader from Comenius University stated.
The students were shown a variety of articles: false, neutral true or true with added elements such as superlatives, clickbait, spelling mistakes or using bold font.
Masaryk and his team found that 41 percent respondents could not tell true information from false, while 11 percent trusted the false information they were given more than the true ones.
Verified brands trusted
Teenagers didn’t even find spelling mistakes to be a red flag to judge if the provided information is true or false, the researchers found.
The research also shows that respondents paid attention to the structure, language, and design of the website. They tended to trust reliable organisations, verified brands or serious voices more.