How Could We Deploy Social Media News to Help the Critical Thinking of Younger Generations?

INTRODUCTION

Critical thinking is one of the essential skills required in the era of the New Economy. Educators and policymakers are increasingly interested in how digital platforms, especially those that deliver news, can be leveraged to enhance the critical thinking skills of young people.  With social media becoming a dominant tool of communication and information assess among younger generation, it is time to think outside the box and explore how these platforms can be deployed as gateways to intellectual growth and digital awareness.

THE EXPANDING INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE YOUNGER ADULTS

Social media is no longer a niche phenomenon – it’s a global standard.  As of 2024, more than 5.07 billion people, or approximately 62.6% of the world’s population, use social media for communication, news, and entertainment.

A significant portion of this user base is made up of younger individuals aged 18 to 29.  Based on global usage trends, it’s estimated that around one-third of all social medial users fall within this age range – translating to roughly 1.6 billion young users worldwide.

EXAMPLES OF GOVERNMENTS USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO PROMOTE CRITICAL THINKING IN EDUCATION

It is good to see that there are education bureaus already focusing on deploying social media resources to shape up critical thinking capability of the younger population, starting at the schooling age.  Several forward-thinking governments have recognized the potential of digital platforms – including social media and online news, to help foster critical thinking skills among young people.  Their approaches often combine media literacy, digital citizenship, and inquiry-based learning, with a strong emphasis on how students interact with news and information online.

• In Finland, schools have integrated media literacy and digital competency across all subjects since 2016.  Teachers actively use platforms such as YouTube, blogs, online debates, and interactive news analysis to help students critically assess information.  These initiatives aim to combat misinformation, build resilience to fake news, and cultivate independent thinking from an early age.

• Singapore takes a structured approach through its Cyber Wellness curriculum, which teaches students how to think critically about what they read and share online.  The Ministry of Education encourages the use of discussion forums, curated news apps, and collaborative digital tools.  Platforms like the national Student Learning Space are designed to promote inquiry-based learning and the critical evaluation of online content.

• In Canada, provinces such as Ontario and British Columbia have prioritized digital and media literacy as part of their broader education reforms.  Many programs focus on social media literacy, helping students understand the biases of influencers, sponsored content, and political messaging on social media platform. 

Country	Focus Area	Key Tools & Platforms	Education Goals
Finland	Media literacy across curriculum	YouTube, blogs, online debates, news analysis tools	Combat misinformation, foster independent thinking
Singapore	Cyber wellness and digital citizenship	News apps, discussion forums, Student Learning Space platform	Promote critical evaluation of online content
Canada	Media & social media literacy in public education	Social media analysis, influencer bias education	Understand media bias, develop responsible digital habits

SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS: A PRACTICAL GATEWAY TO CRITICAL THINKING

Above examples of international efforts highlight a growing consensus: critical thinking education must meet young people where they already are, and that means online.

Among all forms of content shared on social media, news-related information holds particular significance.  Young users encounter news headlines, opinion pieces, viral commentary, and breaking updates through various social platforms. 

While this content often blurs the line between fact, opinion, and entertainment, it also presents a powerful opportunity. 

Teaching young people how to question, verify, and interpret the news they see online can serve as an assessable and practical entry point into critical thinking. 

In a digital world where information moves quickly and influence spreads rapidly, social media news literacy is not just an educational priority – it’s foundation for digital well-being and informed citizenship. The following research survey might imply a strong support to this argument.

RECENT SURVEY ON NEWS-FOLLOWING BEHAVIOURS

PEW Research report on news-following habits in the New Economy era.  According to a Pew Research survey[i] done in 2025, there is a significant gap in news-following habits between the youngest and oldest age groups within the survey’s target population – Millennials and Baby Boomers, respectively.  While 62% of Baby Boomers follow the news all or most of the time, only 15% of Millennials do so.  What’s more, both ratios decline from 10 years ago.

It's also interesting to read about how these two surveyed segments vary in terms of frequency of getting news from social media.  76% of the Millennials get news from social media at least sometimes, while only 28% of the Baby Boomers get news from social media at least sometimes.  To my surprise, both ratios maintain at similar level for 5 years.

50% of the Millennials surveyed indicated that they have a lot of or some trust in the information that comes from social media sites, while only 24% of Baby Boomers trust the same.

Category	Millennials	Baby Boomers	Remarks
Follow news all of most of the time	15%	62%	Both percentages have declined over the past 10 years.
Get news from social media (at least sometimes)	76%	28%	Both percentages have remained stable over the past 5 years.
Trust in news from social media (“at lot” or “some”)	50%	24%	Indicates a higher level of trust among Millennials.

Yet the question remains: Given that younger generations engage with news in different ways and often at lower frequencies, can social media still foster critical thinking?

The following research offers compelling evidence that it can.

WHAT THE RESEARCH TELLS US: SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS CAN BOOST CRITICAL THINKING OUTCOMES

A 2025 field experiment conducted by Altay, Hoes, and Wojcieszak offers compelling evidence that following news on social media can yield meaningful educational benefits.  In a two-week study involving 3,300 participants, users were asked to follow either news-related or non-news accounts on Instagram and WhatsApp.  The result was clear: those who followed credible, politically balanced news accounts experienced measurable gains in current affairs knowledge, awareness of true news stories, belief accuracy (meaning the ability to distinguish true from false information), and trust in news organizations.

The study found that following news on social media helped users become more informed, without making them more politically extreme or mentally overwhelmed.  The study’s naturalistic design – where participants voluntarily engaged with news content in their everyday social media environments – makes the findings especially relevant to real-world applications in education.  In short, the research shows that exposure to quality news content on social media platforms, even in small doses, can enhance users’ critical thinking capabilities.

CREATING THE RIGHT CONDITIONS: TEMPERAMENT BEFORE DEPLOYMENT[ii]

However, the study also underscores a crucial point: these benefits do not occur automatically.  Participants did not simply stumble upon news content – they were prompted to follow specific accounts, activate notifications, and stay engaged over time.  This structure exposure created a “temperament” or readiness that allowed the positive effects of social media news to emerge.  In other words, thoughtful curation, active engagement, and clear incentives are essential prerequisites for deploying social media news as an education tool.

Without these foundational elements, simply encouraging students to “follow the news” may have little to no impact.  But with the right design, such as curated news lists, notifications, classroom integration, or even media challenges, social media news can be transformed into a practical and effective gateway to critical thinking education.

 如何運用社交媒體新聞來培養年輕一代的批判性思維？

導言

批判性思維是新經濟時代不可或缺的核心能力之一。教育工作者與政策制定者愈來愈關注如何善用數位平台，特別是那些傳遞新聞的平台，以提升年輕人批判性思維的能力。隨著社交媒體成為年輕世代主要的溝通與資訊獲取工具，現在正是時候跳出傳統框架，思考如何將這些平台轉化為促進智識成長與數位覺察的渠道。

社交媒體對年輕人的日益影響

社交媒體早已不是小眾現象——它已成為全球通行的標準。根據2024年的統計，全球已有超過 50.7億人（約佔全球總人口的 62.6%）使用社交媒體來溝通、獲取新聞與娛樂內容。

在這龐大的用戶群中，有相當一部分是 18 至 29 歲的年輕人。根據全球使用趨勢估算，約有 三分之一的社交媒體用戶屬於這個年齡層，等同於全球約 16億名年輕人。

各國政府如何運用社交媒體推動批判性思維教育

令人欣慰的是，一些教育機構已經開始積極投入，將社交媒體資源應用於培養青少年的批判性思維，並從學校教育階段就著手進行。部分具有前瞻性的政府已意識到，包含社交媒體與線上新聞在內的數位平台，擁有協助年輕世代建立批判性思維的潛力。

他們的做法通常結合 媒體素養、數位公民教育 與 探究式學習，特別強調學生與新聞與資訊之間的互動方式。

·       在 芬蘭，自2016年起，學校已將媒體素養與數位能力納入所有學科中。教師會主動運用如 YouTube、部落格、線上辯論、新聞分析工具 等平台，幫助學生發展對資訊的批判能力。這些教學行動的目標是對抗錯誤資訊、建立對假新聞的辨識能力，並從小培養獨立思考。

·       新加坡 則透過「網絡健康課程（Cyber Wellness）」進行系統性的規劃，教育學生如何批判性地思考他們在網路上閱讀與分享的內容。教育部也鼓勵學校使用 討論論壇、新聞應用程式 和 數位協作工具。像「學生學習空間（Student Learning Space）」這類國家級平台，設計目的正是推動探究式學習與線上內容的批判性評估。

·       在 加拿大，例如 安大略省 和 不列顛哥倫比亞省，已將數位與媒體素養納入教育改革重點。許多課程專注於 社交媒體素養，協助學生了解 網紅內容的偏見、贊助內容的商業性 及 政治訊息的操控手法。

國家	重點領域	主要工具與平台	教育目標
芬蘭	跨課程媒體素養	YouTube、部落格、線上辯論、新聞分析工具	打擊錯誤資訊、培養獨立思考
新加坡	網絡健康與數位公民教育	新聞應用程式、討論論壇、學生學習空間	培養批判性評估能力
加拿大	公立教育中的媒體與社交媒體素養	社交媒體分析、網紅偏見教育	理解媒體偏見、發展負責任的數位行為

社交媒體新聞：通往批判性思維的實用起點

上述各國的國際案例顯示出一項日漸形成的共識：批判性思維教育應該從年輕人已經身處的數位環境中開始——也就是線上世界。

在社交媒體上分享的眾多內容形式中，新聞相關資訊 具有特殊的重要性。年輕用戶每日透過 Instagram、TikTok、YouTube 或 X 等平台，接觸到新聞標題、意見文章、病毒式評論與即時新聞。

這類內容往往模糊了事實、觀點與娛樂之間的界線，但也因此提供了一個絕佳機會：教育年輕人如何質疑、查證並解讀他們在網路上看到的新聞，正是一種具體且易於實踐的批判思維訓練方式。

在這個資訊瞬息萬變、影響力快速擴散的數位時代，社交媒體新聞素養 不僅是教育的優先事項，更是確保數位健康與公民知情參與的基礎。以下的一項研究便對此提供了強有力的佐證。

最新調查：社交媒體新聞的使用行為

根據 皮尤研究中心（Pew Research Center） 於2025年發表的一份調查報告，不同世代在新聞關注與信任度上存在顯著差異。

• 僅有15%的千禧世代（Millennials） 表示他們會「經常」或「大多數時間」關注新聞，而 有62%的嬰兒潮世代（Baby Boomers） 表示有此習慣。更值得注意的是，這兩個數字在過去十年間都有所下降。

• 然而，在從 社交媒體獲取新聞的頻率 上，有76%的千禧世代 表示「有時候」會透過社交媒體接收新聞，而 僅有28%的嬰兒潮世代 如此。

• 在 對社交媒體新聞的信任度 上，50%的千禧世代 表示他們對其所看到的內容「有些」或「非常信任」，相比之下，只有24%的嬰兒潮世代 表示相同看法。

指標	千禧世代	嬰兒潮世代	備註
經常或大多數時間關注新聞	15%	62%	過去十年中雙方比例皆下滑
有時從社交媒體獲取新聞	76%	28%	過去五年保持穩定
信任社交媒體上的新聞資訊	50%	24%	千禧世代信任度較高

然而，問題仍然存在：鑑於年輕世代接觸新聞的方式與頻率皆有不同，社交媒體是否仍能有效培養他們的批判性思維？

以下的研究提供了有力的證據，顯示答案是肯定的。

研究結果告訴我們：社交媒體新聞能促進批判性思維

2025年，Altay、Hoes 及 Wojcieszak 進行了一項具代表性的實地實驗，提供了強有力的證據：透過社交媒體關注新聞，能帶來實質的教育益處。

在為期兩週的研究中，3,300 多名參與者被隨機分配去關注新聞或非新聞帳戶。結果顯示，那些關注可靠且政治立場中立的新聞帳戶的參與者，在以下幾方面均有所提升：

• 對時事的知識掌握

• 對真實新聞事件的認知

• 分辨真偽訊息的能力（信念準確度）

• 對新聞機構的信任度

此外，這些改善是在沒有引發政治極化或資訊壓力感的情況下發生的，顯示出新聞內容在社交媒體中的教育潛力，尤其適合應用於實際教學情境中。

創造正確條件：部署社交媒體新聞前的「適應性準備」

不過，這項研究同時強調了一點：這些好處並非自動發生。

參與者並不是隨意接觸到這些新聞內容，而是經過設計——被要求關注特定帳戶、啟用通知、並持續參與。這樣的結構性接觸形成了所謂的「temperament（適應性準備）」，使得社交媒體新聞能發揮正面效果。

換句話說，精心策劃的內容、主動參與的機制、明確的鼓勵方式，是讓社交媒體新聞真正發揮教育功能的前提。

若缺乏這些基礎，即便鼓勵學生「多看新聞」也可能收效甚微。但只要透過 精選新聞清單、推播提醒、課堂整合、甚至是媒體挑戰活動 等形式設計，社交媒體新聞就能成為培養批判性思維的實用且有效的切入點。

[i] Pew Research Center (2012) Young adults and the future of news. Available at: Young Adults and the Future of News | Pew Research Center

[ii] Altay, S., Hoes, E. and Wojcieszak, M. (2025) ‘Following news on social media boosts knowledge, belief accuracy and trust’, Nature Human Behaviour.