This 2019 study (PDF) of citizens’ data literacy in the UK by the University of Liverpool, Glasgow University and others has one curious conclusion: a profile they call ‘social and media users’
On the surface they resemble what you would typically call digital natives: young, who spend large amounts of time online and share lots of content.
But they are different in that they are significantly less aware of the source and impact of the information they receive and share. They are also likely to be less educated than other profiles. According to the report:
‘Social and media users’ have almost as limited an awareness of the use of data by platforms as Limited users. At the same time they have the least concern about data sharing and the least critical position on the data sharing practices of platforms.
Ironically, they also still do not trust content they find in any media – but they are more likely than other groups to trust content shared by friends. Given that this group (17% of users) consists mainly of young people, with lower educational attainment from lower income households, we are concerned that they will remain disadvantaged in their data literacy into later life.
This result – along with similar ones elsewhere in the literature – undermines the idea of the “digital native”.
Other details about this profile that stood out to me:
- 95% reported to make no effort to view news website which are different political perspectives than their own
- Just 30% looked online to verify information during a conversation with friends or family
- Only 8% encouraged or showed others how to fact-check things online, for example by conducting other searches
- And in a dichotomy, 85% indicate that it is not acceptable to track their online behaviour over time but 50% believe that there is no point in changing privacy settings because companies will be able to get around these settings anyway
These are a passive group that is ripe to be influenced with misinformation online, such as the campaign run on Facebook during Brexit. Their consume-and-share behaviour puts not just people like them at risk but other groups too.