The news media seems to be under attack these days, and while adults rage back and forth about it, kids seem to have a different view of what’s going on. A new survey by Common Sense Media finds that the mews media is important to kids, although they don’t necessarily think they’re being covered correctly.
The poll finds that 48% of kids believe following the news important, while 70% say it makes them feel smart and knowledgeable, and 50% say it makes them feel prepared to make a difference. But when it comes to how they are represented in the news, the majority don’t have a positive opinion.
In fact, 74% of kids think the news needs to show more people their age, while 69% say the news media doesn’t correctly represent the experiences of people their age, and only 42% feel that the news covers issues they feel are important to them. What’s more, 63% of kids find news today disturbing, making them feel afraid, angry and/or depressed.
- As for "fake news," only 44% of kids say they can spot a fake news story, while 31% of kids admit they've shared a news story in the last six months, which turned out to be inaccurate. For this reason, the news isn’t necessarily the most trusted source for kids. In fact, only 25% of kids put “a lot” of trust in the news, with more of them trusting other sources like their family (66%) and teachers (48%).
Source: Yahoo Finance