Young people receive health advice via social media. But can they distinguish good information from bad?

Can sunscreen be bad for you?? Can kitchen ingredients cure an STD? Students look for all kinds of information online – including health and wellness advice – but are confronted with an overwhelming landscape that is often riddled with myths and memes.

“It can be very easy … for young people to read something and maybe take it to be true, when it may not be,” said Soliana Lijiam, a student at the University of Toronto.

A recent wave of social posts abolish fluoride in drinking waterurged by Robert F. Kennedy's nomination to lead America's top health agencyunderlines the ongoing struggle to find reliable health information amid a sea of ​​online mis- or disinformation.

While digital media literacy lessons are part of the Canadian school curriculum, students and experts alike say more extensive learning is needed to boost young people's critical thinking skills and help them become proficient on social media.

LOOK | Students share where they look for information:

Where do students get their news?

We asked students where they get their news and what they would like to learn to better navigate social media content.

Students, who are “impressionable and still growing,” need time to learn how to separate opinions from evidence-based information, says Kofi Brako, a 23-year-old medical student at McMaster University.

But those bite-sized video clips on TikTok or Instagram can be all too compelling, he added. “It can be difficult to actually take the time to analyze what a message is trying to tell you… because the way it's presented to you online can be so compelling and persuasive.”

Lijiam, 20, did a research project that showed young people were influenced by internet misinformation, funny memes and parodies about safe sex practices and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections.

She agrees that it's very easy to passively let social content wash over you as you scroll, “to absorb that and not really question what you're learning about or what you're consuming.”

Increasing digital literacy

Canada's schools are already addressing digital media literacy, but more depth and breadth is needed, said Catherine Burwell, assistant professor of education at the University of Calgary.

The lessons should cover the spectrum of subjects in the classroom and not be one-offs or tied only to social studies lessons, she said.

“It should happen in science, for example, with questions about the climate crisis. It could happen in health classes. It could happen across the curriculum,” she said.

Teaching strategies for navigating online are valuable, but Burwell believes teachers should also help students understand today's broader online landscape, including their propensity to be social.

Students “need to be able to talk about what they saw. “We need to help them understand what it means for something to be factual…what does really good, rigorous scientific research look like, and help them understand that science does change too,” she said.

Initiatives outside the school environment can also help students reach higher levels.

Earlier this month, Dr. Ripudaman Singh Minhas teamed up with students like Lijiam and Brako to host a daylong conference to help teens and young adults fuel their critical thinking skills while scrolling social media.

The Toronto developmental pediatrician took action after witnessing a massive increase in health misinformation online in recent years, and seeing more patients coming forward confused or with more questions about vaccines, mental health disorders and sexual health.

LOOK | Students come together to learn strategies to combat misinformation on social media:

Helping students become aware of misinformation on social media

Organizers of a youth-focused conference discuss why misinformation on social media is difficult to detect, while an education professional outlines how education can help.

The objectives of the conference? Find out “what's going on [students’] minds, what they hear about health misinformation and give them the tools to critically assess what they see online,” Minhas said.

The conference also emphasized respectful and responsible dialogue online, including with those who share opposing views.

Minhas recognizes how motivated young people are to create and share content – ​​and how easy it is to do so – and encourages more intention and thought before young people dive in. think about responsible ways to do that and the ripple effect that can have.”

Be where students are

With information easily accessible online, it's important that healthcare and science professionals engage with the social spaces where young people gather, Lijiam says. It is especially valuable as a way to reach groups that might otherwise face barriers to this knowledge and expertise, including racialized and indigenous people, newcomers, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ community.

It's also something Lijiam saw firsthand: After her brother was diagnosed with a chronic illness in his youth, she watched her family research further online and find ways to manage his symptoms.

Minhas agrees. “In Canada right now, it is easier to consult online resources, such as social media, than to go to your doctor,” he noted.

As medical professionals, it's important that we think about how we can eliminate some of that misinformation [online] with content that is credible, that is reliable.”

Navigate social media

Here are a few basic strategies suggested by Brako and Lijiam to help people improve the way they evaluate information found online:

• Be intentional about when you spend time on social media and which accounts and hashtags you follow.
• Consider where the information comes from: is it a reliable source? What makes this person an expert?
• Explore different sources to get a fuller context.
• Take a step back: A message may be easy to consume or share, but think carefully about the information conveyed.
• Understand that there are other sides to a story.