A new study by Dar Meshi and Maria D. Molina reveals a shocking connection. They concluded that unhealthy social media usage has a negative effect on the perception of fake news as real. The research, published in the journal PLOS One, included an online choice experiment among 189 participants, as young as 18 years old and as old as 26 years old. The researchers studied how these people behaved when exposed to actual true and fake news posts on social media. They set out to raise awareness on the impact of social media usage with their discovery.
These results suggest that more than six in ten Americans get their news from social media sites. Yet these platforms have been shown to spread disinformation more than three times as much as legitimate news. Seeing such prevalent misinformation online seems to signal devastating consequences for the accuracy credibility judgments that users are equipped to make in news contexts.
Experiment Overview
As a part of their model, Meshi and Molina exposed individuals to 20 different news articles. Then, they converted each story into a bite-size social media post. Of those posts, 50% had legitimate news and 50% had fake news stories. The researchers measured how believable participants considered the posts to be. They looked at the content’s ability to persuade participants to interact through a click, comment, like or share.
These findings indicated a greater pattern of behavior associated with other social media use. Participants who exhibited greater symptoms of this usage were significantly more likely to believe in the fake news presented during the experiment. Those who have a difficult time managing their social media usage usually do not possess the critical skills required to identify trustworthy content. Consequently, they can be very susceptible to misleading information.
Implications of Problematic Use
When social media use becomes problematic, it can cause significant distress and interference with one’s daily activities. This is particularly true when people overuse these platforms. Research finds that these behaviors are more than innocent quirks. They can take a terrible toll on students’ mental health, academic achievement, and future employment opportunities. For example, stronger social media use has been linked with unemployment as well as lower academic grades.
Meshi and Molina call attention to how important it is to appreciate these connections. This understanding is crucial to mental health professionals as they serve clients who battle social media addiction. Their findings suggest that by identifying individuals more prone to believe in misinformation, targeted interventions can be designed to mitigate these risks.
Addressing the Spread of Misinformation
The impact of misinformation spread on social media presents a real threat to civil discourse and the ability of the public to engage in knowledgeable decisionmaking. As more people turn to social media as their primary source of news, it’s important to know how users are interacting with this content. The methodology and findings from this study provide meaningful examples and inspiration. These learnings can illuminate new approaches to slowing the spread of fake news.
By focusing on those who exhibit problematic social media behaviors, it becomes possible to implement educational programs designed to enhance critical thinking skills. These initiatives would help equip users with the tools they need to be effective navigators of the online world and in turn make them less vulnerable to misinformation.