In the current digital age, most teens are likely to encounter—and believe—conspiracy theories they find online. This is one of many reasons students want media literacy courses in their schools.
An overwhelming 94% of teens believe schools should be required to teach media literacy, a new report from the News Literacy Project finds. Yet, only 39% of teens report having had any media literacy instruction in at least one class during the 2023-24 school year.
Teens’ desire for news media literacy education stems from the problems they encounter online. For instance, eight in 10 teens who are on social media say they come across posts that spread or promote conspiracy theories. One in five report seeing such posts daily.
Many of these posts push varying narratives, like the flat Earth conspiracy, the 2020 election being rigged or stolen and the dangers of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the report. Furthermore, 81% of teens who report seeing conspiracy theories online are inclined to believe one or more of them.
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One of the ways schools can step in is by teaching students how to seek out reliable news information. The report suggests that very few teens actively look for news to stay informed (15%) Most of them either keep up with the news without trying (50%) or don’t try at all (36%). Instead, it’s safe to suggest that they let their social media algorithms do the work for them.
“Those active news seekers who like, share or post about news on social media are also more likely to say they always fact-check content before doing so,” the report reads.
Students who are active news seekers are much more likely to engage in other civic-minded activities, the research adds, including referencing credible sources when sharing an opinion and reaching out to a journalist or news outlet to offer feedback on a story.
Read the full report here to learn more about teens’ news consumption habits.
