Growing up, millennials were the first generation to be labelled as “digital natives,” a popular catchphrase coined to emphasize the generation’s heightened social media literacy at a time when the likes of Facebook and Twitter were eroding traditional communication norms. Millennials, born between the early ’80s and late ’90s, ignited a new era of online activism with their decisive power to brazenly drive cultural, economic and, perhaps more pointedly, political change online.
Yet given this spur of online hyper-activity – among not just millennials but the world at large – the spread of misinformation became a wider-scale issue, with older Canadians arguing that it is a larger issue than millennials think it is. According to a recent Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Global News, seven in 10 Canadians say it’s getting harder for them to identify whether information is true or false on social, a sentiment felt more strongly among Canadian boomers than millennials. So, what does this all mean in terms of misinformation consumption on social media across generations?
It turns out that while all generations are equally adamant that individuals who spread false information should be penalized, younger Canadians are less supportive of regulating information on social media and less condemning of misinformation spreaders compared with older generations.
A prime(d) audience
When social media first emerged, younger generations were a prime demographic to mobilize, having grown up with social media at their literal fingertips, and their sponge-like minds were susceptible to new ideas. Fast forward to 2022, social media demographics still skew younger, with platforms like TikTok attracting users as young as 10 years old among the group that is the most active on the platform.
While younger generations continue to be more engaged on social networks than older ones, they are also more likely to seek information on social media. According to the same Ipsos study, nearly half of Canadians say they use social media to get information, a behaviour found more often among millennials (59 per cent) than boomers (26 per cent). Moreover, among millennials, 55 per cent trust information on social media compared with 45 per cent of Boomers.
Are millennials too trusting of information on social media?
By looking at the data, they might be. But trust does not necessarily equate to gullibility.
A strong majority of Canadians believe that misinformation on social media poses a serious threat to democracy, with boomers (87 per cent) and millennials (81 per cent) relatively close in terms of their levels of concern. So, it’s not that younger generations are exceptionally more naïve about the information that they consume; they understand the repercussions of what the Wild West of social media can muster when left untamed, and it can also be a scary place for many given the likes of cyberbullying. But they are softer and less heavy-handed in their approach to condemning the spread of misinformation through social media.
The Twitter conundrum
The recent Twitter acquisition by Tesla tycoon Elon Musk has also raised some alarm bells regarding the spread of misinformation on the platform.
The platform’s new pay-for-verification feature, where users can decide to pay US$8 to add a blue check mark by their Twitter profile name to signal a verified account, has sparked heated debate as to whether this will increase trust from users who buy into this feature.
Interestingly, half of Canadians say they are more likely to trust information on social media from a verified account, yet trust measures drop to 40 per cent with the added knowledge that a user purchased a verified account on social media. Still, 40 per cent is a relatively high proportion.
What is a little more relieving to hear, though, is that when it comes to calling out misinformation spreaders, many Canadians (77 per cent) say people who spread misinformation on social media should be banned, regardless of a verified account or not. Again, boomers continue the trend of being stricter with this notion compared with millennials. This does not come as a surprise considering younger Canadians are more concerned that social media is too controlling of free speech compared with older generations, and that people should be allowed to say whatever they want to say on social media and not be penalized for it, even if it is misinformed.
We stand on guard – to a degree
Social media doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Rather, it seems to be gaining traction, despite ongoing measures to curb the infodemic, including the use of AI to regulate online accounts and the possible passing of Canada’s own Bill C11, known as the Online Streaming Act, which seeks to amend Canada’s broadcasting policy, including claiming regulatory measures over social media, and is currently awaiting Senate approval.
But at least for millennials, we can’t ignore that the sentiment is there: they are wary of the potential polarization on social and the harm that misinformation can cause, it’s their approach to harsher measures that differs from older generations.
That being said, we need to continue to be cautious, especially with younger generations like Gen Z who are more likely to be disposed to misinformation on social media simply because they are using it more. However, millennials were part of a world where social media didn’t exist, a reality unbeknownst to Gen Z.
Although we might be able to have more faith in millennials to navigate the infodemic on social media, we still need to be wary of what the future of social media will look like for even younger users. Until then, we’ll be on guard.
Lisa Byers is an account manager with Ipsos Public Affairs.
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