2.5 How Young People Use and Create Content in Media

Most young people today use some social media platform, about half of the respondents use TikTok and Snapchat daily, but to post or comment on other posts is not done very often. There are more people who never post anything, 32 percent, than do it daily, 12 percent, or weekly, 20 percent. This also includes commenting on other people's posts. However, few post or comment on any social media on a daily or even weekly basis. This discrepancy suggests that a large portion of the young population, the majority, passively consumes content on these platforms most of the time, rather than actively engage in interaction or creativity.

Similar to the result in the adult survey, it is quite common that young respondents refrain from commenting due to fear of being attacked. There is also a higher share of respondents selecting the 'don't know' option to this statement.

The result varies between the countries. Online communication in the modes in the survey tends to be most frequent among the Swedish and Danish youth and least frequent among the Icelandic youth.

Figure 2.5.1. Youths’ online communication by country (percent)

How often do you…?

Most of the Nordic youth feel confident in using digital and social media, as expressed in their ability to help a friend or relative; many also say they would be able to help with sending an email. The share of the 9- to 15-year-olds who feel capable of assisting others with online communication is generally higher in Sweden and slightly lower in Norway. The Swedish respondents seem to have more confidence when it comes to helping a friend or a relative.

Figure 2.5.2. Youths’ assisting in online communication by country (percent)

Accessing and assessing information

This part of the survey examines if, and where applicable, how, young people ensure that the information they encounter is credible. Similarly to adults, most young people state that they often find the information they are looking for online. However, opinions among the young people vary more regarding how they verify information. A fairly large share does not check with multiple sources for news information, so-called lateral reading.

Overall, in this section, the share of respondents with no opinion is relatively high, varying between countries, with Iceland having the highest share and Sweden the lowest.

Figure 2.5.3. Youths’ search for information and news online by country (percent)

Mean

Sweden: 3,2

Norway: 3,2

Denmark: 3,0

Iceland: 2,4

Mean

Sweden: 3,5

Norway: 3,5

Denmark: 3,5

Iceland: 2,9

Mean

Sweden: 3,2

Norway: 3,5

Denmark: 3,2

Iceland: 3,1

Mean

Sweden: 3,8

Norway: 4,0

Denmark: 3,8

Iceland: 3,8

Mean

Sweden: 3,4

Norway: 3,3

Denmark: 3,3

Iceland: 3,2

The older age group, 13 to 15 years old, tend to apply more of the different actions involved in seeking information and they especially feel more equipped to figure out which media can be trusted compared to their younger counterparts.

Figure 2.5.4. Youths’ search for information and news online by age (percent)

Mean

9–12 yrs: 3,0

13–15 yrs: 3,2

Mean

9–12 yrs: 3,4

13–15 yrs: 3,5

Mean

9–12 yrs: 3,1

13–15 yrs: 3,4

Mean

9–12 yrs: 3,8

13–15 yrs: 4,0

Mean

9–12 yrs: 3,2

13–15 yrs: 3,4

Youths' attitudes to the news

Challenges in media consumption vary among the 9 to 15 age group, but a significant share of the youth have little to no difficulty staying up to date on the news and do not avoid reading, listening or watching the news.

There is a larger share agreeing to difficulties in determining which media or online search results they can trust or who is behind a social media account/profile than the share who disagrees with these statements.

The perceived difficulty level is generally lower for Iceland in all statements compared to the other three countries.

Figure 2.5.5. Youths’ attitudes towards information and news online by country (percent)

Mean

Sweden: 3,2

Norway: 3,4

Denmark: 3,5

Iceland: 3,0

Mean

Sweden: 3,1

Norway: 3,0

Denmark: 3,1

Iceland: 2,7

Mean

Sweden: 3,3

Norway: 3,4

Denmark: 3,5

Iceland: 2,8

Mean

Sweden: 3,3

Norway: 3,4

Denmark: 3,4

Iceland: 2,9

Mean

Sweden: 3,5

Norway: 3,6

Denmark: 3,7

Iceland: 3,1

The younger age group tend to experience a slightly higher degree of difficulty with staying up to date with the news compared to the older group, but the difference is small. The share of respondents stating ‘don’t know’ is, however, often more than double among the 9- to 12-year-olds compared to older group.

Figure 2.5.6. Youths’ attitudes towards information and news online by age (percent)

Mean

9–12 yrs: 3,4

13–15 yrs: 3,2

Mean

9–12 yrs: 3,1

13–15 yrs: 3,1

Mean

9–12 yrs: 3,4

13–15 yrs: 3,3

Mean

9–12 yrs: 3,4

13–15 yrs: 3,3

Mean

9–12 yrs: 3,6

13–15 yrs: 3,5

Key insights

A minority of the youth actively participate in social media, and some are inhibited by social risks online. Most youth rarely post or comment on social media – about one in four do either of this on a weekly basis. Almost as many, around one in five, refrain from commenting due to fear of being attacked daily. It is noteworthy that a high portion of youth answer “don’t know” on this question, suggesting that it is hard to define what feelings or risks inhibit participation.
Operational confidence is strong but far from completely saturating the young population. Most young respondents state that they would be able to help others with basic digital communication tasks, such as posting or commenting on social media, or sending an email. However, a fairly large portion of the young population would not be able to help someone with one or more of these tasks.
Lateral reading is not routine among most of the Nordic youths. The majority report that they often find what they search for online, yet only a minority assess whether information is genuine before sharing it and an even smaller portion regularly visits multiple sources to verify information, so-called lateral reading. However, for all items relating to information and news search, many of the respondents' answer “don’t know,” indicating that their approaches may vary in practice.
Difficulties regarding trust and digestibility. More respondents agree than disagree that it is hard to judge which media sources they can trust. Many also find it difficult to stay up to date with the news. About one in four respondents 9 to 15 years old say that they avoid news altogether. And although young people are very familiar with social media, many state that it is difficult to determine who is behind a social account or profile.