Safer Internet Day 2021: Half of young people encounter misleading content online every day

Half of young internet users encounter misleading and falsified content online every day, with some noticing it more than six times a day, new research has found.

Charity partnership the UK Safer Internet Centre questioned 2,021 children aged between eight and 17-years old about their online habits, revealing that 48 per cent said they came across misleading content at least once a day, with 24 per cent adding they encountered it between two and five times each day.

The increasing amount of time younger people have been forced to spend online to participate in remote learning and to socialise with friends and family during the pandemic has prompted concerns about the kind of content they may be exposed to, the centre said.

Spotting fake news and other false content

The research, released in conjunction with Safer Internet Day, highlights the emotional effects that misleading content can have on young people, with 91 per cent reported feeling annoyed, upset, sad, scared, angry or targeted after encountering it.

Industry body Internet Matters encouraged parents and carers to be vigilant and help children to block and report posts that concerned them in March last year, shortly before schools across the UK closed for the first time.

Read More

Coronavirus: Encourage children to block and report fake Covid-19 news, experts warn

While over half (53 per cent) of participants said they assume that images on social media are likely to have been filtered or manipulated in some way, 63 per cent admitted they would be likely to fall for gaming scams or concealed sponsored adverts.

A quarter confessed they shared posts, videos and other forms of content from unverified or untrustworthy sources, with 16 per cent saying they’d done so as a joke without considering the consequences of how misleading the content could be.

Separating fact from fiction

“As children are living in an increasingly digital world, it is vitally important that they are able to separate fact from fiction and challenge or question any misinformation they may come across,” said Children and Families Minister Vicky Ford.

Read More

School closures: Internet poverty threatens the education of low-income children with schools closed by Covid

“We want children to have access to the tools they need to navigate modern life, including how to identify disinformation and trusted sources, stay safe online, and make the right decisions when engaging with media content.

“We have already introduced guidance for schools about teaching online safety across the curriculum within new and existing subjects, such as Relationships, Sex and Health Education, Computing and Citizenship.”

…→