INTRODUCTION
In an era that is dominated by digital information, the ability to navigate media safely and responsibly has never been more critical.
Media literacy, the skill to analyze content across platforms, is essential for discerning fact from fiction in a world flooded with misinformation. Coupled with this is the pervasive challenge of media bias, which influences the framing of news and narratives, often leaving audiences vulnerable to partial truths. At the same time, internet security has emerged as a cornerstone of digital citizenship, protecting users from cyber threats while ensuring privacy in an interconnected landscape.
Together, these skills form the foundation of informed and safe online engagement, empowering individuals to critically assess information and safeguard their digital presence.
I bet you did not think that the three paragraphs above were written by ChatGPT. I would not either, to be honest. It begins with a journalistic style lead, followed by unbiased-sounding information backed up by examples; this makes content generated by artificial intelligence harder and harder to discern from real, man-made products.
But it is not just AI that has made the internet increasingly difficult to traverse. With the ability for online creators to spread their opinions, fact or fiction, to millions of their followers, it becomes an increasingly pivotal endeavor to teach people what it means to be a digital citizen.
As recent events such as the attempted TikTok ban have brought these very concerns to the surface, Spotlight dives into the effects of media bias and lack of cybersecurity, and how understanding these dangers can protect people in the future
SCROLLING PAST UNFILTERED FEELINGS
With the expansion of media platforms and a desire to interconnect, we are faced with the subsequent chore of filtering billions of opinions; opinions laced with ideology, cultural nuances, and moral principles—the impossibility of grappling with them only leaves us at their mercy.
Media bias, according to Metropolitan Community College, “occurs when journalists or news organizations allow their own opinions to affect the news that they report and the way they report it.” Whether it is intentionally weaponized, or simply a byproduct of people’s personal beliefs, bias has pervaded traditional sources of media and now continues into digital media.
“When I was in high school, Google was brand new, so most of the information you were getting was from an encyclopedia or a library. You trusted that it went through five or six publishers,” Ryan Nardiello, D95 Assistant Director of Technology, said. “Nowadays, you can type in anything, and then use your critical eye to see if it’s valid. As more information is there and there’s less safe gaps, the consumer is the one who [has to use] their skills to determine what is right.”
This, according to Mary Zarr, D95 Executive Director of Technology, is exacerbated by the speed and volume of digital media and its contrasting nature to older forms, which were not “immediate sources of information, [often having] people review and edit it]” before publication.
“I think anybody who takes a shortcut to find information or gets their information from one source could be subject to media bias,” Zarr said.
Zarr’s concerns are especially applicable to social media. Kendall Flournoy, senior, says bias is more acceptable on these platforms compared to news, where journalists have “the responsibility to report the truth.” While Daniel Minkov, senior, shares the sentiment, he underscores social media is dangerous despite its nature.
“[It is] just independent people making media. While I do think it is great to encourage individual journalism through stories and investigation that traditional media don’t do, I [don’t think you] can solely rely on it for important news given how not vetted and unknown it is,” Minkov said.
This ‘unknownness’ is exacerbated by algorithms, as Helen Zhao, junior, says. Though she has seen a “good mix of both sides,” these functions may skew the hope for an even spread.
“There’s a For You page which would usually recommend you to the topic you like [so you] watch more and more,” Zhao said. “So, sometimes I feel like on a current event, it will recommend videos more towards what I think and my opinions on the current event, so they don’t cover everything to show you every side, and what’s actually happening is very different.”
While it is true that the younger generation is susceptible to bias, especially seeing that they are the primary consumers of social media, Minkov believes that it is actually senior citizens who are most vulnerable to misinformation.
“Nowadays, whereas students may at least be aware that not everything you hear on the internet is going to be true, that is not exactly the case for senior citizens, and if they see something on Facebook saying something, they’re going to believe that at a higher rate than other age groups and demographics,” Minkov said. “I know because the Russian-Ukraine war has been a very big factor in my family since I’m literally half Russian, half Ukrainian, and I’ve really seen how much Russian media uses misinformation specifically to target seniors. I think that that is what very many other news sources do. They may target seniors who just believe anything they see blindly.”
Recent events such as Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, removing independent third-party fact-checkers on the grounds of being “too politically biased,” bring issues of bias and misinformation close to home. While Zuckerberg aims to replace the former platforms with Community Notes, a way for users to leave notes on posts they find misleading, Forbes questions the lesser moderation that will “put direct, unchecked transactions between content creator and consumer.”
Motivated bias also exists in political media. Minkov says it has led to a “great issue of polarization” from either side of the political spectrum.
“I feel like biased media encourages [polarization], as we don’t seeing issues holistically—we are seeing only one side of this very multifaceted argument, and now we are seeing people who are refusing to acknowledge or see any valid points from either side,” Minkov said. “It creates this environment where we want to hear something our way, and if it is not our way, we refuse it. That’s why media bias can impact our society negatively by separating us by the outlets we get it from.”
With all these dangers lurking online, it may seem we are safe from bias when we log off of the internet; however, other forms of media, such as the very textbooks we use for learning, may contain bias as well that can be difficult to navigate.
“Especially in the more contemporary history we get into, there could be quotes from politicians at the time that can be biased that get inserted into the text that is being read,” Laura Kustra, social studies teacher, said. “I would also then say, ‘well, what’s the context in which that source is being inserted into the textbook?’ ‘Is it to support a claim that is being made to judge a president?”
While Kustra attests that good textbooks more often than not do not contain bias and aim to remain emotionless and objective, personal biases can often skew the perception of content.
“There could be this textbook that focuses on a particular topic and if you have a bias and you like this source, then that also highlights a bias that you as the reader have in using that textbook. I think it’s more than just a textbook problem. I think it’s an author problem [and] a reader problem,” Kustra said. “Then when you read things that are biased, you’re either going to love it because it might support your already existing biases, or it’s going to anger you. Either way, [bias] promotes a lack of focus on facts.”
So even though educational materials may seem like they should be the first thing that should be bias-free, it is not. Nothing is.
“I think we all possess a certain bias; It is inevitable,” Flournoy said. “You and I both possess certain biases just based on how we were raised in our political views, our social views, and our worldviews, so news will always come from a person with a different background.”
SCOURING THE WEB UNARMED
Credit card information, social security numbers, current locations. As the world becomes increasingly automated, more of people’s lives are poured into the small screens—and while this makes life more convenient, it , also comes greater security concerns regarding personal information.
Technology’s rapid advancement is unmatched, and so are the scams that come with it. Everyday, new developments arise and the subsequent solution to these problems blossoms later, leaving people open to scams without protection.
“In today’s day and age, no one’s safe. If your information is leaked online and someone stumbles upon and decides to use it maliciously, anyone can very easily get scammed, even if you are the safest person on the planet,” Minkov said.
In fact, Zhao has experienced a scam firsthand whilst thinking she was safe on the Internet. Zhao says she never imagined she would get hacked.
“I had a Gmail account; someone hacked into my account and I was never able to log in. I use my email and other info to register stuff online. Maybe I accidentally clicked on links, because there are a lot of unsafe links on sites,” Zhao said.
Zhao is just one of the many people whose data has been breached on the Internet. Ranging from kids to large corporations, anyone is susceptible to hacks. According to USAFacts.org, there were more than 869 ransomware attacks in 2022 alone. However, the chances of getting hacked are not the same for everyone, Zarr says.
“The people most likely to get hacked are elderly individuals, children and teenagers, new internet users, employees in high risk roles, and then distracted or overworked individuals. If you’re like, ‘I don’t have time to check this out. I’m just going to click on this,’ those are the [groups] most susceptible [to being hacked],” Zarr said. “So when you think about it, almost all of us fall into one of those categories on certain days, right?”
Some of the most common traps that people fall into are phishing scams and deep fakes on the rise with the development of artificial intelligence, according to Minkov. With the help of AI, the deep fake phishing scams employs “a malicious actor that leverages deep learning technology to impersonate the voice and/or appearance of at least one person a recipient would trust” according to the University of Florida Information Technology. These data breaches can cost immense losses for the victims and can lead to severe consequences, like losing a great deal of money.
“The thing that’s [on] headlines right now would be voice scams, where people build vocal imitations of a person and say they’ve either kidnapped the person or have it call your mom and say, ‘Hey, we have this person. We need this amount of money,’” Nardiello said.
To combat these threats from affecting students and staff at D95, the Department of Technology says they have installed multiple security platforms, like Gaggle—a student surveillance software—into school-issued devices. Nardiello says that they take “internet security very, very seriously.”
“As a school district charged with the safety of our staff and our students, we think it’s important to invest in multiple layers so that, again, we’re trying to mitigate the chances of a data breach happening to the extent that’s possible,” Zarr said.
At the end of the day, however, it is difficult to combat all cyber threats personally when there exists somewhere in the world “a hacker who can get whatever they want,” according to Zarr.
“Can you really shield yourself from everything there is online? Absolutely not,” Minkov said. “But I think that it is just having the understanding of what you should be looking for when you’re on the internet, when you may be falling into a trap, and how to effectively, not only avoid those traps in the first place, but if you’re in one, how to recognize it and get out.”
BUILDING A FIREWALL
It is not easy constantly being wary of polarized opinions and scams. So what can be done to help people be less susceptible to these dangers? Though it is apparent that these threats are not going away any time soon, learning and applying the right skills to properly evaluate what is reality is the first step to shielding oneself.
“You see something pop up [on social media] that’s informing you and you’re going to make your opinions based on that. I don’t think many people care at that point, because they got the bare bones news, and that’s really all they need,” Minkov said. “I think that many people lack the facilities necessary to really analyze and understand new sources, because it’s just extra work; Humans inherently don’t want to do extra work, so they’re just going to go the path of least resistance.”
For media literacy, the media consumed can affect bias. According to Enyonam Osei-Hwere and Patrick Osei-Hwere, authors and professors of Media Communications at West Texas A&M University, someone can be media literate by asking questions about why this content was created or what point is being proven.
“Use your discernment,” Flournoy said. “I keep referencing the election, but I feel like when Trump is talking about this is the last time you’ll ever vote in an election, I feel like things like that, lean towards having a bias. So I think we should just, I guess not everybody deserves discernment, but I feel like, just get your source, your information from different sources, and compare.”
While media literacy and cybersecurity can be problems, solutions can be found. As the internet changes, many of the solutions that are currently implemented may need to adapt as well. However, these solutions can help people combat technology as it gets more advanced, and help people become more secure online.
“The biggest thing [to protect yourself] is not clicking or opening any unknown file you weren’t expecting. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is,” Zarr said. “And then you know where you visit on your iPad so if you don’t sign up for anything that wants to take your personal information.”
Additionally, using safe and strong passwords and regularly updating software can help people be more safe online and have more online defense and literacy, according to the American Cyber Defense Agency. As technology continues to develop overtime, it is crucial that people implement ways to shield themselves from dangers online.
“[Online security] will become way worse, because our society relies on technology so much.Everyday, we’re developing and stepping towards more advanced technology, and that will just lead to bigger issues,” Zhao said. “Almost everyone owns a personal device now, there’s new apps being developed, and a lot of new technology is becoming available. That will just increase the chance of the internet security issues.”
