Increasing trust in information among high school students through media literacy training

The article examines how high school students receive information and whether they are ready to critically evaluate the news they consume. The impact of media literacy on the level of trust in information among high school students who consume news from various sources, from social media to traditional media, is considered. It analyzes to what extent young people tend to accept information without question and whether they are ready to develop critical thinking skills through participation in media literacy trainings. Basic terms and concepts have been studied, and the main sources of information among high school students have been identified through surveys. It was found that most high school students are interested in participating in such trainings to improve their media literacy and self-development. The article presents the results of an experiment in which respondents were instructed on mechanisms for detecting fake news. It shows that pre-trained students are more critical of information from the media, social networks, and messages from friends. The study revealed that the level of trust in information from parents is 75%, while trust in information from friends is 57%. However, more than 50% of respondents unconditionally trust news from social media, although this source requires the most careful consumption of information. The survey also showed that 66% of respondents reflect on facts obtained from the internet, and 90% are ready to develop critical thinking skills. Main results: basic terms and concepts were studied; sources of information among high school students were identified (through surveys); recommendations were developed and proposed to the administration of the Dialogue Gymnasium (Kyiv, Ukraine) to improve the level of media literacy among high school students (based on survey data); a pilot training session for high school students of the Dialogue Gymnasium was conducted on the need for critical evaluation of information from any source. The following methods were used in the preparation of the research: literature analysis, comparison, description, analysis, synthesis, statistical analysis, expert surveys, interviews, questionnaires, content analysis, expert analysis, abstraction, and generalization.