Information consumption habits have changed drastically in recent years, and access to it occurs, half of the time, through Instagram or Tiktok.

 

 

Open an app, watch a video, and passively consume images ad infinitum. Social media is part of daily life for the vast majority of young Spaniards . On these platforms, they entertain themselves by sharing memes , but in half of cases, they also become the only source of information they access, according to various studies conducted in Europe, the US, and Australia . The reality is that news consumption habits have changed. Only 20% of young people turn to the press or news platforms. And 56% of boys and girls, according to an analysis by Save the Children , feel more comfortable turning to family and friends to verify the veracity of a piece of information.

The relentless search for short videos has transformed the way we consume content on traditional media. Cristina, a 20-year-old student at the Faculty of Medicine of the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), says that some of her friends can spend at least five uninterrupted hours on TikTok. "They have to block the app or they wouldn't stop," she says. Or the case of Alejandro, a 20-year-old architecture student, who likes to watch soccer videos on social media several times a day. This is the second most popular social network among young people, only after Instagram.

But the younger generation isn't any more misinformed than their elders . That's the interpretation of this by lawyer Siana Kalinova, an expert on disinformation and social media. "There's a tendency to think that young people easily fall for any kind of hoax. I don't agree, and rather, they've started to get their information differently," she argues. What she sees is more a problem of media literacy and "it's an educational issue, not a generational issue," the lawyer reiterates.

This skill, according to a definition by the European Commission , helps counteract the effects of disinformation campaigns and the spread of fake news, as it allows them to "navigate the modern news environment and make informed decisions." Boys and girls, however, can be misled by photos, videos, or other socially generated content, according to an analysis of more than 1,000 American adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17. The same Save the Children report shows that more than half of Spanish youth have difficulty identifying when news is fake.

“If it weren’t for TikTok and Instagram, I wouldn’t know anything. Sometimes they just trick us,” admits Marta (19 years old), another student at the UCM. She looks forward to her next class with Andrea, also 19 years old, who explains that if she sees a news story on TikTok, she prefers to look at a newspaper “to see if it’s true.” Paula, another girl who accompanies them, says that she sometimes uses X to “check the status of the Metro.” “We get [las noticias] , we don’t look for it,” clarifies Marta.

The omnipresence of misleading claims has wreaked havoc on the public sphere. Worldwide, the invasion of Ukraine has not only caused economic and human consequences, but has also highlighted the easy spread of fake news . The Valencia disaster, which occurred last October, had the same effect—albeit under different parameters— which uncovered the worst wave of hoaxes in the country in recent memory (at least since the pandemic). However, this phenomenon transcended the ages.

"Right now, there are people who haven't been digital natives and aren't able to easily identify which news is true," the lawyer explains. Jesús Conde, a professor at the Faculty of Education Sciences at the University of Seville, believes that young people are more likely to fall for scams because "they've been online longer" and are more actively consuming news.

The digital identity of young people

Misinformation comes in different formats: from legends in some cases, to conspiracy theories and even humorous pieces. “Scientific literature in recent years has even talked about the concept of digital grafting . That is, misinformation is presented in an attractive way to young people, in a format that seems truthful and resonates with their interests,” says Jesús Conde.

Most of the girls and boys interviewed by EL PAÍS admitted that they couldn't tell if a piece of information was true or not. This is something they've also been observing at Código Nuevo , a media outlet focused on the Z generation and The new internet age, born between 1980 and 1996, known as millennials . For journalist Sara Roqueta, editor-in-chief of the site, there's even talk of "the fall of Google," as if it's gone out of fashion for them.

“We realize that more than half of teenagers get their information from social media and directly use TikTok as their primary search engine,” she explains. “They have a very special connection with opinion and content generators, or what we might even call information influencers ,” Roqueta points out. And those who create this content share information while applying makeup, so users perceive a sense of tranquility that “isn't the same as when you read the news,” Roqueta adds.

Digital identity is part of the core of a person's overall identity, projected in different ways. "That self-confidence can play tricks on them," says Jesús Conde. On social media, "everything is fast-paced and mixed with entertainment," making it difficult to understand how young people talk about or treat content. "That's a problem when it comes to differentiating between what's a hoax and what's true for them," adds Roqueta.

Learn to hunt hoaxes

The problem of misinformation has forced organizations like the WHO to call on nations to regulate these platforms and promote programs that encourage responsible internet use. Since last year, the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), together with Big Van Ciencia, have been carrying out the Cazabulos project, focused on students in the first cycle of secondary school. This educational program focuses on scientific misinformation, especially on TikTok. It consists of four phases and includes online training that allows students to learn how to detect hoaxes.

"Our idea is to provide citizens, in this case students, with tools that allow them to more or less independently debunk hoaxes, fake news, or biased information," says Pura Fernández, deputy vice president of Scientific Culture and Citizen Science at the CSIC. The program is in its second edition, but the idea is for this initiative to be extended over a longer period and also extend to the American continent in the long term.

The government has approved a new law —part of Pedro Sánchez's democratic regeneration plan—that will allow digital platforms and accounts with more than 100,000 followers on a single network to request rectifications. And a few weeks ago, the Council of Ministers approved a draft law for the ethical use of artificial intelligence , which aims to bring order to the practical application of this technology. The draft law adapts the provisions of the European Regulation on Artificial Intelligence to our legislation.

Kalinova emphasizes that regulation "cannot be done solely by institutions." It's also important to instill it at home, through parental controls , and even through interventions in the classroom . "I believe that if we deepen our understanding of how social media and algorithms work, and do educational work, that can have a significant impact," she adds. At the same time, she points out an important nuance: imposition policies won't achieve much. "I believe it could even generate the opposite effect, more radicalization."

Another aspect that has sparked interest recently is the popularity of influencers and accounts on rather conservative social media. Social media has become the far-right's primary instrument for colonizing the thinking of younger generations, journalist Andrew Marantz told EL PAÍS in 2023. However, if these ideas resonate with young people and generate followers, it's "because there's also a tired segment," notes Siana Kalinova.

CONSTANZA CABRERA El Pais, Spain