Media and Information Literacy of Young Students in the Post-Truth Era

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of media and information literacy of young people studying in the contemporary period. The paper actualizes the problem of disseminating such information on the Internet, which is of negative nature. The authors believe that the legal regulation of spreading information on the Internet is possible taking into account the state of media and information literacy of citizens and the specifics of the functioning of information, which is characterized by a special state of society in the post-truth era. In present-day information environment, there is an appeal to emotions and beliefs. The purpose of the study is to identify the current state and problems of media and information literacy of students in the post–truth era. Based on the theoretical analysis and the results of the study, the authors determine the channels of obtaining information in the virtual space that are relevant to young people and the level of trust in them; the involvement of students in online communication in social networks and the presence of threat-recognition skills. The scientific novelty of the conducted research is to assess the current state and identify the problems of media and information literacy of students in the conditions of post–truth at the regional level. The results can be useful for identifying the risk groups among young students, developing methods for the safe use of digital content, and preventing the spread of destructive Internet practices among young people.