Not sure? You should up your media-savvy game.
Technology is everywhere you look, and it’s always changing. As a result, information is constantly coming at us, whether we’re scrolling through social media, streaming videos, or checking alerts on our phones. And the kicker is that most adults are spending nearly 10 hours a day consuming online content.
Yikes! That’s 10 hours a day consuming information created by sources we may not know or fully understand. Even worse, we’ve also entered a new age of misinformation and contradictory content.
So, how confident are you in your ability to distinguish between fake and accurate information? In other words, how would you rate your media literacy?
Misinformation is Bad. Disinformation is Worse!
More than half of Americans (51%) say they generally find it difficult to determine what’s true and what’s not when they get news. And 72% of adults across 25 nations say the spread of false information online is a significant threat to their country.
While having an onslaught of misinformation out there isn’t great, it’s just inaccurate. However, disinformation is intentionally misleading or deceitful and much more sinister. The purpose of disinformation is to mislead, harm, or manipulate a person or group.
One reason why the abundance of disinformation online is dangerous is that it manipulates the human psyche. Studies have shown that because of “the continued influence effect,” people keep believing repeated statements of disinformation even after being corrected with factual evidence.
Writer Amanda Montell delves into great detail about “confirmation bias” in her book, The Magical Age of Overthinking. She says people only want to hear information that validates their existing beliefs, while ignoring or dismissing anything that contradicts them. This bias is what leads people to remain in cults and continue believing things said by public figures they admire, even after that person has been proven to be a liar.
Another dangerous behavior is the “sunk cost fallacy,” where people continue failing endeavors such as relationships, jobs, and cults because of the time, money, and other investments they have already made. Rather than cutting their losses, they irrationally continue on a destructive path.
How can you ensure you don’t fall victim to a disinformation spiral?
Why Media Literacy Matters
Emotional reactions to content are often intentional and designed to elicit the desired response. Practicing media literacy teaches people to be active, responsible drivers, not passive, uninformed passengers. It’s essential to understand how and why consuming information impacts thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
There are several questions you can practice asking yourself when consuming media.
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Who created this content: a person, corporation, influencer, political group, or AI model?
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Why was it made: to inform, sell, persuade, outrage, or entertain?
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Who benefits if I believe or share it?
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Who is the intended audience?
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How does it make me feel: positive, anxious, angry, superior, or inadequate?
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Do I understand how algorithms curate what appears in my feed?
Want to Go Deeper? Try This 2-Minute Reflection Exercise.
Scroll your feed for 60 seconds, and then ask yourself a few key questions:
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What emotions did I feel?
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Which posts felt genuine? Which felt manipulative?
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Did anything feel addictive or “icky”? Why?
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Would you choose to spend time on this if it weren’t designed to hook your interest?
Why This Matters for Your Digital Well-Being
Your attention is one of the most valuable things you own. Every moment you reclaim from algorithmic noise is a moment you get back for true connection, clarity, creativity, purpose, and presence. And those reclaimed moments add up!
Want to Build Stronger Digital Awareness?
Download our free guide, Disinformation Check: A Simple Guide to Spotting Misleading Online Content
It’s simple and designed to help you stay intentional every time you pick up a device.
