Autori: Ioan Ciprian Blaj & Aura Codruța Danielescu
During the data collection period, the media literacy questionnaire was administered to 694 students from several educational institutions in Timiș County, representing the theoretical, technological, and vocational tracks. The students come from: Colegiul Național Pedagogic “Carmen Sylva” Timișoara, Liceul Teoretic “Traian Vuia” Făget, Liceul Tehnologic Electrotimiș Timișoara, Liceul Teoretic Periam (rural area), Liceul Tehnologic “Valeriu Braniște” Lugoj, Liceul Tehnologic “Traian Grozăvescu” Nădrag (rural area), Colegiul Tehnic “Emanuil Ungureanu” Timișoara. The diversity of school profiles provides a broad view of how adolescents in the county perceive and use digital information in their everyday lives.
The collected data shows, from the very first analyses, that the digital environment is the central space for information, communication, and socialization for lower secondary, high school, and vocational students. Thus, the detailed interpretation of the results highlights not only their media behaviors but also the vulnerabilities, gaps, and emerging competencies that need to be strengthened in school through coherent media education programs.
1. Time Spent Online: An Indicator of Digital Dependency
The distribution of responses regarding time spent online confirms a reality already observed in recent studies: students live in an almost permanent digital ecosystem. The graph shows a strong concentration in the intervals “between 3–6 hours” and “between 1–3 hours,” followed by “between 6–8 hours.”
Very few students report spending less than one hour online, and the “Not at all” category is almost nonexistent. This high volume of digital consumption inevitably amplifies exposure to:
- manipulative content,
- aggressive recommendation algorithms,
- volatile and sometimes dangerous trends,
- information flows that are difficult to filter.
2. Main Sources of Information: Social Media Dominates Strongly
The most frequently used channels for information are:
- TikTok (78.1%)
- Instagram (74.9%)
- YouTube (55.9%)
- Google (20.2%)
- News platforms (14.1%)
The data indicates an information behavior that is strongly visual, short, rapid, and guided by algorithms and influencers. Traditional sources—newspapers, TV, official channels—are almost absent. This preference increases the risk that students will engage with:
- unverified content,
- opinions presented as facts,
- manipulative materials,
- conspiracy narratives.
3. Information Verification: A Fluctuating Behavior
When asked “How often do you check whether a piece of information is true?”, only 33% of respondents stated that they do so “often,” while 38.2% check “sometimes.” About one third admit that they check rarely or never.
This behavior shows that students have not yet developed a solid reflex for validating information—an essential skill in the digital age marked by the phenomenon of fake news.
4. Perceived Media Literacy vs. Actual Media Literacy
A notable contrast emerges between:
- self-perceived competencies, and
- actual behaviors.
Although 42.2% believe they know what media literacy means (but not exactly), and 26.5% say they understand it “to a great extent,” behaviors such as source verification, understanding bias, or detecting deepfakes indicate uneven levels of these competencies.
Even so, students express strong confidence in their ability to identify fake news (65.7%) and deepfakes (48%). This discrepancy between perception and reality highlights the need for practical activities that explain the difference between knowing the term and being able to perform the necessary critical analysis.
5. When Evaluating a News Item: What Do Students Check?
The most common criteria used are:
- Source of the information (71.2%)
- Confirmation from other sources (57.9%)
- Date of publication (47%)
Surprisingly, a high percentage of students also pay attention to:
- comments from other users (46.8%) — a highly unreliable indicator
- number of shares (9.7%) — a criterion reflecting popularity, not credibility
At the same time, 13.7% do not check anything, which represents a critical vulnerability.
6. Exposure to False Information: An Omnipresent Phenomenon
The majority of students — 73.2% — state that they have encountered false or questionable information in the past month. They identify the most common types as:
- Content about influencers / celebrities (52.7%)
- Political content (42.8%)
- Misleading advertising (40.9%)
- Conspiracies (33.9%)
- Health-related fake news (22.7%)
- AI-generated / deepfake materials — increasingly mentioned
This exposure confirms that young people are at the center of a digital ecosystem in which manipulation and information distortion are ever-present and often highly appealing.
7. Students’ Perceptions of Online Manipulation
Open-ended responses reveal that students identify the most dangerous forms of manipulation as:
- fake news,
- emotional manipulation,
- deepfakes and AI-generated content,
- grooming and dangerous online interactions,
- influencers promoting products or ideas deceptively,
- risky trends on TikTok and Instagram.
Students are aware that their emotions can be exploited and that social pressure can strongly influence them.
Conclusion
The interpretation of the data clearly shows that media literacy among students is a critical area situated between opportunity, vulnerability, and responsibility.
- Opportunity, because students are connected, curious, and familiar with technology.
- Vulnerability, because they have not yet developed the critical reflexes needed to verify information in an environment dominated by algorithms and manipulation.
- Responsibility, because formal and non-formal education must develop real media literacy programs for both teachers and students.
