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The Importance of Teaching Adults how to Vet Online Information for a Functioning Democracy
Keywords
Online Information; Online Resources
Session Abstract
This session outlines the causes and effects of online misinformation and disinformation and the importance of taking measures to correct resulting societal disfunction. The main purpose is to discuss how to teach adult to vet online sources and information in order to make properly informed and responsible decisions.
Session Description
The internet and social media outlets have become sources of misinformation and disinformation, the consumption of which has arguably hindered the healthy functioning of the working democracy in the U.S. and continues to jeopardize the safety and well-being of the population. The essential problem is that people – more urgently adults who are now participating in government or otherwise influencing the course of its operation – do not know how to distinguish between accurate and inaccurate information. The purpose of this session is to discuss the causes and effects of the dissemination of this deception, distortion and inaccuracy (e.g., the current political and social divide and hesitancy in receptivity of Covid 19 vaccinations and other safety protocols in certain areas), and then introduce, examine and develop methods, strategies and techniques to combat the consumption of dangerous deception and ensure instead the digestion of accurate, truthful information that can inform responsible action and, thus, a healthy society.