Digital Skills and Digital Knowledge as Buffers Against Online Mis/Disinformation? Findings from a Survey Study Among Young People in Europe

Abstract

Digital skills and digital knowledge are often put forward as a potential solution protecting young people from being misled by mis/disinformation on social media. However, while previous research has repeatedly demonstrated the value of digital skills and digital knowledge for protecting young people from negative outcomes of their internet use, the state of the research regarding risks relating to exposure to online mis/disinformation remains scarce. This study aims to fill this gap by analyzing data from a large-scale survey among 5,482 young people aged 11 to 20 in five European countries: Estonia, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Portugal. The findings indicate the importance of differentiating between different digital skills dimensions. Fostering communication and interaction skills is particularly valuable in limiting mis/disinformation risks. Digital knowledge did not significantly predict mis/disinformation risks. The implications of these findings for future research and for practice are discussed.

Digital skills of and for lives marked by vulnerability: Being young, refugee, and connected in Europe

“…What we also repeatedly observed was that, in conditions of precarity that so many participants experience, for example, having very limited material resources and low literacy skills, access and use of digital communication becomes a collective rather than an individual affair. Often, digital skills, from the most fundamental to the most advanced, develop through a collective experience of learning by doing (De Coninck et al, 2023;Vissenberg et al, 2023), and doing so collectively, while learning from each other. This is both a common and vital practice for many young refugees who find themselves within the unending temporariness of the migrant experience; within contexts of interruption and uncertainty, peer networks often substitute missing structured and stable systems of support, we repeatedly heard.…”