broken image
  • Home
  • News
  • Competition 
    • 2024 Economics Contest Results
    • 2024 Psychology Contest Results
    • 2024 Economics Essay Contest
    • 2024 Psychology Essay Contest
    • 2023 Contest Results
    • 2023 Psychology Essay Contest
    • 2022 Contest Results
    • 2022 Psychology Essay Contest
  • SPC 
    • 2024 SPC Results
    • 2024 SPC
  • Research
  • Interview
  • Arts
  • Submission Guidelines
  • About
  • …  
    • Home
    • News
    • Competition 
      • 2024 Economics Contest Results
      • 2024 Psychology Contest Results
      • 2024 Economics Essay Contest
      • 2024 Psychology Essay Contest
      • 2023 Contest Results
      • 2023 Psychology Essay Contest
      • 2022 Contest Results
      • 2022 Psychology Essay Contest
    • SPC 
      • 2024 SPC Results
      • 2024 SPC
    • Research
    • Interview
    • Arts
    • Submission Guidelines
    • About
broken image
  • Home
  • News
  • Competition 
    • 2024 Economics Contest Results
    • 2024 Psychology Contest Results
    • 2024 Economics Essay Contest
    • 2024 Psychology Essay Contest
    • 2023 Contest Results
    • 2023 Psychology Essay Contest
    • 2022 Contest Results
    • 2022 Psychology Essay Contest
  • SPC 
    • 2024 SPC Results
    • 2024 SPC
  • Research
  • Interview
  • Arts
  • Submission Guidelines
  • About
  • …  
    • Home
    • News
    • Competition 
      • 2024 Economics Contest Results
      • 2024 Psychology Contest Results
      • 2024 Economics Essay Contest
      • 2024 Psychology Essay Contest
      • 2023 Contest Results
      • 2023 Psychology Essay Contest
      • 2022 Contest Results
      • 2022 Psychology Essay Contest
    • SPC 
      • 2024 SPC Results
      • 2024 SPC
    • Research
    • Interview
    • Arts
    • Submission Guidelines
    • About
broken image

Fake News, Real Harm: The Impact of Social Media Misinformation on Adolescents’ Cognitive Perceptions and Belief Systems

Xinqi Lin, Fuzhou Sunshine Experimental School

· paper

Abstract

Adolescents are increasingly engaging with social media, which has become a major source of information and communication in their lives. It now serves as a primary source of news for many teenagers, one third of whom report relying on social media more than any other medium to obtain new information (Ku et al., 2019). Many are concerned that the spread of misinformation on these platforms poses significant challenges to adolescents’ cognition and beliefs, which will in turn impact their real-world behaviors. Research has shown that a substantial portion of users have unwittingly shared false information online (Chadwick & Vaccari, 2019), and the algorithms designed to filter content often struggle to distinguish between factual and misleading information (Del Vicario et al., 2016). This essay examines the impact of exposure to misinformation on adolescents’ cognitive development and belief systems. It focuses on adolescence, in particular, due to its significance in cognitive maturation. Ultimately, it concludes by exploring some of the ongoing efforts of social media platforms to combat misinformation, before proposing that more could be done to protect younger users.

Download Full Article as PDF

Copyright © 2024 Scholar of Tomorrow. All SoT articles are distributed under the attribution non-commercial, with no derivative license. This means that anyone is free to share, copy, and distribute an unaltered article for non-commercial purposes provided the original author and source are credited.

Previous
Minds in the Web: How Misinformation Warps Adolescent...
Next
How is Reality Misconstrued by Misinformation on Social...
 Return to site
Cookie Use
We use cookies to improve browsing experience, security, and data collection. By accepting, you agree to the use of cookies for advertising and analytics. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Learn More
Accept all
Settings
Decline All
Cookie Settings
Necessary Cookies
These cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. These cookies can’t be switched off.
Analytics Cookies
These cookies help us better understand how visitors interact with our website and help us discover errors.
Preferences Cookies
These cookies allow the website to remember choices you've made to provide enhanced functionality and personalization.
Save