" They ’re more susceptible to substantiation bias via societal media than they like to admit . "
If you haven’t yet experienced an online encounter with AI-generated slop, consider yourself one of the lucky ones. Over the past year or so, social media sites such as Facebookhave been overrun with AI-generated images.
shortly looked at my mom ’s facebook and it ’s all AI , like every single post , and she has no mind , it ’s a complete wastelandpic.twitter.com/4XJ0nNHuFV
Nor are boomers unique in falling for internet tricks in general. While members of younger generations are often content to think of themselves as automatically “tech literate” because of their age, that assumption can be dangerous — or sometimes, just plain embarrassing.
so much become on therepic.twitter.com/1yP16tMjKy
People of all ages should hold themselves to a high standard of criticism when engaging with any information online. To that end, I was intrigued when I saw a post from Reddit useru/loki8481on the popularAsk Redditpage which asked, “What is the Gen Z equivalent of boomers being fooled by obviously fake AI images on Facebook?”
It was interesting to see different perspectives on ways Gen Z (and everyone else, too) can improve their tech literacy. So, here are some of the most popular responses to the question:
1.“They think they’re smart when it comes to cyber security, [but]they are statistically easier to scam than boomers.”
2.“Always believing the first results of Google search.”
3.“Being fooled by obviously scripted propaganda on TikTok.”
— u / whiskeybridge
4.“Not knowing what LLM AIs like ChatGPTareexactly, or how they work.”
5.“Taking a random TikTok content creator as a legitimate expert on a topic, especially health and fitness.”
— u / doseofsense
" It really annoys me when a conversation is on-going and someone just pops in like , ' Here , watch my favourite creator excuse my point , ' and post a picture . No , I do n’t care what some Lord I never heard of thinks , I ’m asking YOU . That ’s why I ’m here talking to YOU . enjoin me what YOU think , do n’t just post a link to a 20 - second video . Nobody has metre for that . "
— u / OAMP47
6.“Speaking as a CPA, please never trust any of those tax TikToks.”
7.“My stepdaughter thought Mr. Beast was really just going to give her $100k if she opened up a crypto account on a shady website. That’s something instinctively you know is bullshit, but she wouldn’t believe me.”
" calculate it up and it ’s a pop scam . She still wanted to try on until her female parent took her sound , lol . "
— u/_Fun_At_Parties
8.“I think there used to be a heavy push in schools to make sure you had [computer] skills, but nowadays everyone just assumes you’ll pick it up at some point in your tech-infused lives.”
9.“Obviously fake nostalgia.”
10.“It’s shocking how easily manipulated they are by memes.”
— u / Mr_Kittlesworth
11.“Buying ridiculously expensive makeup and skin and hair products [they see on TikTok] and believing they have discovered some kind [of] health nirvana.”
13.“Thinking they are a business entrepreneur world-shaker when they participate in gambling (bitcoin/cryptocurrency).”
14.“I mean it’s something ALL youth do (and far too many adults), but: taking shit they agree with at face value [and] using zero critical thinking, but then half turning [the critical thinking] on once [the topic] is something they disagree with.”
15.“Media literacy in general is just not something that’s taught in society.”
" hoi polloi are just kinda expect to watch it , I guess . Which is shitty , because the media has a vested interest in you not questioning what they tell you . "
— u / meowtiger
16.Lots of people “[Trust] Tiktok the way that their parents trust Facebook.”
17.“They’re more susceptible to confirmation bias via social media than they like to admit.”
18.“I don’t think [many people] fully comprehend just how easy it is to manipulate the discourse of a story with editing.”
— u / thisistheSnydercut
19.And finally: “Honestly, just digital literacy in general. Millennials and Gen X had to deal with clunky but informative UIs that were JUST hard enough to navigate that we had to figure them out on our own.”
There’s a lot to consider here. I’d like to know what you all think; are people overreacting with “kids-these-days” type thinking, or do younger generations have room to improve? Let me know down below.
