Beyond Face Value
Attention spans are getting shorter. Multi-tasking is the new norm. And thanks to push notifications and colorful infographics on social media, reading the fine print is becoming more or less a waste of time.
Gordon Pennycook, assistant professor of behavioral science at the University of Regina, conducted a study last year on how improving attention to accuracy can reduce the rapid spread of misinformation online.
An article from “The Journalist Resource” in March documented the results of his study, which found that more than half of participants’ decisions to share false headlines were because of inattention (https://journalistsresource.org/media/share-fake-news-social-media/).
“We want to take mental shortcuts,” Auburn University professor Dr. Debra Worthington said. “Getting outside our own echo chambers, where people are all talking about the same thing- whether it’s good or ill- it takes conscious work.”
Out of 40 Auburn University students who participated in a survey on misinformation and the media, 54% admitted that social media is their dominant news source. Meanwhile, only 28% of participants said that if exposed to a questionable article or headline online, they would be very likely to do additional research.
“We’re used to having just that little sound bite, or being able to read a headline,” Auburn University professor Dr. Brigitta Brunner-Johnson noted. “With important topics, I think we just have to buckle down and put some time into it. Really read the sources, and critically think about what’s being presented. Ask the right kinds of questions.”
With Twitter and Instagram taking precedence over traditional news outlets these days, bullet-point infographics are the next biggest craze. The short blurbs are great for cutting straight to the point, but they can’t deliver all the facts.
“People have a lot of problems thinking they’re experts in things they’re not,” Northwestern University psychology professor David Rapp said. According to cognitive studies, people are much more likely to read what they already believe to be true. But in order to fight personal bias, there needs to be a sense of balance when seeking out information.
It’s going to require reading authoritative sources, Duke University professor and PolitiFact founder Bill Adair, said. The URLs can say a lot about the legitimacy of a website. “We need to teach people to be smarter consumers of the news.”
Journalists aren’t off the hook, either. It’s their job to make sure the information being presented is clear and straightforward, Rapp added. People aren’t going to sift through medical jargon or messy statistics.
“In a way, you’re sort of better off with ink and paper,” Adair said. “The distillation that went on to get something onto ink and paper often filtered out the crazy. And now, the crazy just shows up on the internet so easily. There’s no friction.”
News is evolving faster than ever before. The days of encyclopedias and hardback medical journals are long behind us. And while the internet can be our greatest tool, it certainly doesn’t come without consequences.
