Demographic differences in the perceived news literacy skills and sharing behavior of information professionals

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to determine the differences in information professionals’ perceived news literacy skills and sharing behaviors with their demographics (gender, age, qualification, professional experience and working designation). Design/methodology/approach Using a quantitative research design, a cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect the data from information professionals working in university libraries. Findings Findings reveal that the use of social media channels for sharing news was significantly higher among the professionals in the age group <30 years as compared to the older age groups. Female professionals determine the authenticity of a news story more frequently than males. The study concludes that the factors such as age, education level and work experience significantly influence information professionals’ use of social media for sharing news and their news literacy skills. Practical implications The study holds some important practical implications in terms of identifying demographic factors in the perceived news literacy skills and sharing behaviors. Having information about the significant variations in demographics may help in adopting the targeted approaches for organizing news literacy sessions, as well as to develop a framework for news literacy instructions. Originality/value This study adopted the Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education given by the Association for College and Research Libraries (ACRL) to develop the theoretical framework and questionnaire. The validated questionnaire on news literacy skills has been specifically constructed for the study in absence of finding any in the literature. Moreover, studies were hardly found assessing the difference of demographics with information professionals’ perceived news literacy skills and their news sharing behaviors.