New study Swiss population has low media literacy
The Swiss population has a poor understanding of the media. A new study shows what is going wrong.
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- According to a study commissioned by the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM), the media literacy of the Swiss population is not very high.
- Among other things, many respondents find it difficult to classify the communication intention of a media contribution - whether information, commentary or advertising.
- The evaluations also showed that only 10 percent of respondents have no confidence in reporting on political and social issues.
- However, almost a fifth were of the opinion that the media and politics work hand in hand to manipulate the population.
According to a study commissioned by the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM), the media literacy of the Swiss population is not very high. Among other things, many respondents find it difficult to classify the communication intention of a media report - whether information, commentary or advertising.
According to the study "The media literacy of the Swiss population" by the scientific network Politools, published by OFCOM on its website, respondents scored an average of just under 6 out of 19 possible points in tests on various facets of media literacy. This corresponds to less than a third of the total score.
The study is the first to survey the media literacy of the entire adult population in Switzerland, according to OFCOM. Around 3,000 people in German- and French-speaking Switzerland were surveyed online for the representative survey.
German speakers and higher educated with greater competence
For example, the respondents had to classify various news reports according to their political and social significance for Switzerland. They also had to assess whether the news shown was information, advertising, opinion or misinformation.
The analysis of media literacy according to traditional socio-demographic characteristics showed that German speakers, men and higher educated people have a higher level of media literacy than French speakers, women and people with a lower level of education. It also showed that younger age groups have higher competence levels than older age groups.
The findings in the special area of social media competence and the responsible handling of dubious news posts were rated as "quite pleasing". On average, the respondents answered 60 percent of the questions relating to social media competence correctly. 87 percent of them decided on a responsible response option in a fictitious example of a hastily forwarded false message via WhatsApp.
Only 10 percent have no trust in reporting
The evaluations also showed that only 10 percent of respondents have no trust in reporting on political and social issues. However, almost a fifth were of the opinion that the media and politicians worked hand in hand to manipulate the population. In addition, half of the respondents were fully or partly of the opinion that a functioning democracy could work without independent journalism.
According to the research, false or misleading reports can influence individual behavior such as the willingness to be vaccinated or the intention to vote. They also lead to them being more likely to be believed in successive contact. On the other hand, if people feel unsettled by disinformation, their trust in news content, especially on digital platforms, decreases.