Disinformation and lack of information can have a negative impact on the economy: Most young people in Romania consider themselves not informed at all or very little about politics in the country

Bucharest, May 9. Most young people in Romania consider themselves not informed at all or very little about politics in the country, so 7 out of 10 of them believe that they lack a large amount of information. Only one in ten young people consider themselves very or very informed about this aspect. These are just some of the conclusions of a large study conducted by the Center for Independent Journalism (CJI) on the relationship between young Romanians and their information and media consumption habits. 

In addition to domestic politics, the top areas in which young Romanians feel the least informed are foreign politics, the 2024 elections, the environment and ecology, and social issues. At the opposite end, young people declare that they are the best informed, in addition to aspects related to social networks, pop culture, influencers and online communities, health and education. 

For young people to be interested in these topics, it is important that they are discussed both in the family and at school, in order to develop the skills to make informed choices once they become adults. From our experience working directly with young people, we believe that we should not blame them for not being interested in what is happening in politics, given that almost no one talks to them about it – neither family, nor school, nor the media. And if we look at Sunday’s presidential elections, we will see that 47% of young people aged between 18 and 24 voted, which is not such a big difference compared to the 35-44 age group, for example, which had a participation of just over 50%, explains Cristina Lupu, executive director of the Center for Independent Journalism, the organization that developed the study. 

Disinformation and lack of information, direct impact on the economy 

According to studies conducted so far, disinformation, lack of information and the spread of false information can have a significant impact on a country’s economy. Public trust, market stability and the efficiency of decision-making processes can be affected by phenomena such as: 

Decreased trust in institutions and markets – When false information circulates freely, investors and consumers can become skeptical of the government, companies and the financial system, which leads to a reduction in investment and consumption. 

Political and economic instability – Disinformation can fuel social and political tensions, affecting government stability and generating economic uncertainty. This can lead to fluctuations in financial markets and a decrease in the economic attractiveness of a country. 

Wrong economic decisions – The lack of correct information can lead governments and companies to make decisions based on erroneous data, affecting the efficiency of economic policies and business strategies. 

Impact on the labor market – Misinformation can influence the perceptions of employees and employers, affecting recruitment, retention and labor productivity. For example, false information about certain industries or technologies can discourage investment in essential sectors. 

Increasing costs of combating disinformation – Governments and companies must invest significant resources to combat disinformation, whether through regulations, information campaigns or fact-checking technologies. 

6 out of 10 believe that information is true if it confirms what they already knew about the subject 

Regarding young people’s trust in information, the research reveals that most of them, that is, 6 out of 10, believe that information is true if it confirms what they already knew about the subject, i.e. confirmation bias, a human cognitive tendency confirmed by science. Half of young people believe that if information appears from multiple sources or if they can identify the source or author of the information, it is true. 2 out of 10 young Romanians believe that information is true if it is distributed by a friend/family member they trust or if it is simply published on the internet. Whether the information appeared in the media is relevant for only less than a quarter of them (21.8%). 

More girls than boys say they tend to accept information as true when it confirms what they already know about the topic (61% of girls, 55% of boys). Boys are more likely than girls to believe information is true when it is shared by a content creator/influencer (12% of boys, 5% of girls). 

The factor that is most often cited by more than half of high school students is that they are influenced by confirmation bias when evaluating information they receive or seek out, regardless of purpose. Young people tend to consider information to be true or trustworthy if it matches information they already know (including from school or their own experiences) and if they can find it in multiple “trusted” sources when they check it out. 

 What is confirmation bias? 

Confirmation bias is a cognitive tendency by which people search for, interpret, and remember information in a way that confirms their own beliefs or assumptions, while ignoring or underestimating information that contradicts them. This phenomenon can influence the decision-making process and lead to erroneous conclusions, because the person affected by confirmation bias will give more weight to evidence that supports their point of view and will reject or minimize contrary evidence. 

The need for accurate information on topics related to the political area is essential to help students navigate the information chaos. Just as media education becomes essential to help young people not only filter the information that reaches them, but also to understand the mechanisms through which our brains sometimes make this process of identifying reliable information difficult for us, Cristina Lupu explains. 

250,000 students, beneficiaries of training courses organized by the Center for Independent Journalism 

Since 2017, the Center for Independent Journalism has been implementing the Media Education Program, a strategic approach through which it aims to develop the media literacy skills of children and young people in Romania. As part of the program, the CJI supports media literacy courses for teachers and students and develops both resource materials for use in the classroom and materials intended for the general public. Almost 1,000 teachers have gone through the media literacy courses, working in the classroom with approximately 150,000 students. The Center for Independent Journalism is a non-governmental organization active for over 30 years in protecting democracy and those who believe in its values. Over 15,000 media professionals, 10,000 teachers and 250,000 students have been beneficiaries of training courses and work experience with the CJI team. 

The study The Relationship with Information and Media Consumption Habits of Children and Young People in Romania was developed by the Center for Independent Journalism. 1,852 children and young people participated in the research. The sample error margin is ±1% and the study has a confidence level of 95%.