Speaker
Description
As active social media users, young people are frequently exposed to and influenced by online disinformation. Their belief in and sharing behavior of misleading information are shaped not only by cognitive abilities and content features but also by peer influences and motivations linked to other forms of cyber aggression, such as cyberbullying. A scoping review focusing on young people aged 5 to 25 mapped existing research on terminology, exposure, responses, influencing factors, consequences, and prevention programs related to disinformation. Among 150 studies reviewed, 13 specifically address peer-related factors affecting responses to disinformation and its associations with (cyber-)bullying.
Preliminary analyses indicate that peer-related factors also related to cyberbullying (i.e., gaining popularity and social capital, social expression, fear of social exclusion and being ridiculed, in- and outgroup membership) significantly motivate young people to share disinformation. Notably, bullying acts as both a motivation for spreading false information and a means of perpetuating it. Besides, cyberbullying intervention programs also appear to enhance young people’s ability to navigate disinformation.
These findings highlight that cyberbullying and disinformation are interconnected online risks that often occur. Thus, a holistic approach for intervention efforts focusing on these issues seems beneficial. However, more research explicitly investigating the association of cyberbullying and disinformation (i.e., exploring possible theoretical explanations and developing a theoretical model integrating both phenomena) is required.
Keywords
Disinformation
Young people
(Cyber-)bullying
| Please also indicate what kind of contribution it is: | Scientific |
|---|---|
| Please indicate what type of scientific contribution it is | Qualitative method study |
