Synthetic realities

Youth media literacy and trust in the age of digital deception

Bibliographic Data

ID21500809
AuthorsShiv Shankar Da (0000-0002-3979-6857, Birla Global University), Mehul Agarwal (0000-0001-5138-1307, Birla Global University, corresponding author), Sruthi Rajan (0000-0002-7019-3632, Birla Global University), Anwesha Padhi (0009-0000-3451-3080, Birla Global University)
Year2025
Publication date2025-09-05
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInformation Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0266-6669 • E-ISSN: 1741-6469
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/02666669251374658
OpenAlexW4414019716
LanguageEN
References cited43

The rise of synthetic media, including deepfakes, AI-generated news, and synthetic images, impacts today’s digital landscape, raising concerns about India’s young population. This study explores their knowledge, perceptions, and critical engagement with synthetic media, focusing on recognition, verification, and response capabilities. Using a mixed-methods approach, combining a sample survey and focus group discussions, findings indicate high awareness but challenges in identifying synthetic media, contributing to trust erosion and misinformation risk. The study underscores the need for platform-specific media literacy programs, mandatory watermarking, and inoculation strategies to foster critical digital reflexivity, addressing ethical and societal implications

Deception · Digital Literacy · Digital media · Information Age · Information literacy · Internet privacy · Literacy · Media literacy · Media use · Pedagogy · Political science · Public relations · Social media · Sociology · World Wide Web · Computer Science · COVID-19 Digital Contact Tracing · Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Psychology · Social Psychology

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