Parents and educators hope for our kids to grow into adults who contribute to society in positive ways, but new research from the News Literacy Project indicates our kids are pretty cynical. They don’t believe or trust the information they hear and see in the news. And, based on recent research from Gallup about American adults, kids’ trust of news media is even lower than their parents’ and teachers’:
- 36% of American adults have no trust in mass media at all, but 84% of teens used negative words such as “untrustworthy” to describe the news media.
- In the last 4 decades, American adults who believe television journalists have a high standard of ethics has dropped from 36% to a historic low of 13%.
- American teens believe news media are more likely to engage in unethical behaviors than standards-based practices.
- Unethical behaviors include giving advertisers special treatment, making up details and quotes, doing favors for sources, or using photos and videos out of context.
- Standards-based practices include correcting errors when they happen, confirming facts before reporting them, and reporting on stories that protect the public interest.
How can we recalibrate our cynicism to healthy skepticism so we are open to the information from journalists that will help us act as good citizens? Here are 3 ideas:
- News v. Others: Point out straight news reports, and be sure to note how they are different from other media in kids’ feeds such as AI slop, viral posts, and information that has not been vetted with the same standards.
- Lateral Reading: When kids share information they’ve seen on social media that interests them, pause to hear them out. Then model lateral research and reading to verify that information with them.
- Trust and Credibility: Ask whether something has to be perfect to be credible. Is anyone perfect at their role? Do their flaws determine their credibility? Or is it how they respond to their flaws and mistakes that builds trust?