Study reveals most gullible generation
And it might not be what you think...
There tends to be a bit of animosity between generations.
Millennials have strong, more negative-leaning opinions on the Boomers, and Gen Z find Millennials to be weird and cringeworthy.
This is not a new trend.
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Every generation believes it's the best, does things better and is smarter than the generations before and after.
However, one generation might not be happy to discover that they are the most gullible.
But we can confirm that this is true.
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In 2021, researchers from the Stanford Graduate School of Education conducted a national study by devising a challenge for 3,446 American high school students.
The team put together a series of live internet tasks, and the results were startling.
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It showed that high school students are seriously unable to detect fake news online.
There is this myth of the digital native, that because some people have grown up with digital devices, they are well equipped to make sense of the information that those devices provide. The results were sobering. This study is not an indictment of the students—they did what they’ve been taught to do—but the study should be troubling to anyone who cares about the future of democracy. We have to train students to be better consumers of information.
Contrary to popular belief, the reality is that although Gen Z is the online generation, they are the worst at discerning fact from fiction on the internet.
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According to various sources, the younger generation has become their main news source, with three in five Gen Zers (ages 13 to 26) getting their news from social media once a week.
TikTok is the frontrunner in this category, with 45% of those between 18 and 29 saying they are regular news consumers on the app.
Social media can be a valuable tool, but unfortunately, little is still done regarding information quality control.
People of all ages struggle to detect misinformation, but members of Gen Z are particularly vulnerable.
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Studies have found that young people are growing sceptical of institutions and are more inclined toward conspiracy theories.
They push away mainstream news outlets and immerse themselves in more niche online communities, which feed them fabricated news based on powerful algorithms and deepen their distrust.
It's a dangerous loop.
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The consequences can be grim.
Here are just a few examples of misinformation "trends" people have fallen victim to on TikTok and other social media platforms:
- Helen Keller was a scammer, and her life story is fake.
- Claims that the American government was "geo-engineering" weather, resulting in Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.
- Claims that Democrats were behind the severe weather in Republican-dense areas.
- Beef tallow is the latest skincare product, although dermatologists do not recommend it.
One study found that only 16% of Gen Zers have strong confidence in the news.
How do we change this issue, or is it too late?
It is a systematic issue. The evidence is clear that folks of all ages struggle to make sense of the overwhelming amount of information that they encounter online, and we need to figure out ways to support people, to find better ways to make sense of the content that streams across their devices.
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