Even though they are SNS natives... The reason why about 40% of high school students cannot spot fakes

This may be sudden, but have you ever had the experience of believing information you shared with someone, only to find out later that it was fake news?

Seeing news flowing on your smartphone and thinking, "This must be true." That is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, I think it is proof that you are engaging with information sincerely. However, that sincerity can sometimes pull us in the wrong direction.

In May 2026, the "YOUTH TIME JAPAN Project (YTJP)" announced a survey of 3,275 high school students nationwide. "Are you confident in your ability to distinguish fake news?" "Do you have a habit of verifying the truth of information?"—the honest answers of these high school students clearly reflected the current state of information literacy in the modern age.

As a certified public psychologist, and as someone who thinks about the relationship between information and human psychology on a daily basis, this data was very thought-provoking. This time, while interpreting the survey, I would like to think together about hints for "engaging with information wisely."

Confident boys and girls who answered "I don't know"

What first caught my eye in this survey was theclear difference in awareness between genders.

To the question, "Are you confident in your ability to distinguish fake news?", the most common answer among male high school students was "Yes," reaching 37.9%. On the other hand, among female high school students, the most common answer was "I don't know," accounting for 39.8%, followed closely by "No" (YOUTH TIME JAPAN Project High School Student Survey #334 , May 2026, total 3,275 respondents).

Looking at these numbers, the first thing that came to my mind was the psychological perspective that "being confident" and "actually being able to spot it" are not necessarily the same thing.

Are you familiar with the concept of the "Dunning-Kruger effect"? It is a cognitive bias where people with lower actual ability tend to overestimate their own competence. In other words, the higher the confidence that one "can spot fakes," the more one's vigilance may actually decrease, increasing the risk—there may be an ironic structure hidden here.

This is not limited to high school students; we adults can also fall into the same trap. I once had an experience that made me realize that when we think "I'm fine," we might actually be at our most vulnerable.

More than 60% have a "habit of verifying," a not-so-small hope

On the other hand, there was also data in this survey that gave me hope.

To the question, "Do you check whether information you see in the news is true?", the most common answer for both genders was "I do it sometimes," accounting for over 40%. When combined with "I do it often," the results showed that 63.2% of boys and 59.7% of girls perform fact-checking in some form.

Over 60% of high school students have a habit of pausing after receiving information to ask, "Is this true?". This is a much more reliable number than I had expected.

However, there is a huge difference in the degree of daily integration between "doing it sometimes" and "doing it often." Checking only when something bothers you versus naturally asking "Is this true?" every time you encounter information—the resistance to fake news becomes completely different.

Turning "doing it sometimes" into "doing it as a matter of course"—I feel that this slight difference makes a big difference in the world of information literacy.

Why do we get deceived even when we are being careful?

Let me talk a little about psychology here.

Why does fake news spread so much? One of the reasons is the phenomenon where"emotion overrides cognition." A study published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the journal Science in 2018 revealed that fake news spreads faster and more widely than correct news (Vosoughi et al., 2018). And the fact was shown that it was not bots, but humans themselves, who were responsible for this spread.

Humans are creatures that want to share information that stirs their emotions. When emotions like "fear," "anger," or "surprise" are evoked, the brain is more likely to make the judgment that "this is important, I must tell others quickly." This is also an instinctive reaction of ours that evolved to quickly communicate crises to our peers in the past.

In other words, the reason you "get deceived even though you are being careful" is not because you have a weak will or are not smart. It is just that your emotions and instincts are reacting honestly. I believe that being aware of this is actually the most important first step in information literacy.

It's not that high school students are special—but there are things I want them to know

Although this survey targeted high school students, vulnerability to fake news is not related to age. According to data released by Government Public Relations Online, it is said that as many as 85% of people do not notice false or misleading information. In other words, there is a reality where most of us are coming into contact with fake information without knowing it.

That said, there are psychological characteristics unique to the high school period. It is an age where identity is in the process of being formed, and sharing information with peers is also a part of self-expression. It is a period when the structure where the feeling of "I want to tell my friends about this" is likely to act before verifying the truth is particularly prone to working.

What I think is "important" is not to teach the "correct answer" for spotting fakes, but to cultivate an "attitude of pausing for a moment."

"Where did this information come from?" "Who is sending it, and for what purpose?" "Why do I feel like I want to believe this?"—the habit of asking these three questions can be started from today. Doubting information does not mean not trusting the other party. I believe it is an intellectual integrity for valuing your own judgment.

On Media Literacy Day, once again

June 26th is "Media Literacy Day". This survey, which was released at this timing, was something that made me think a lot.

We are now living while receiving a staggering amount of information every day. It is not realistic to scrutinize all of it. However, continuing to ask the questions, "Where did this information come from?" and "Who is sending it, and why is it spreading?" is something anyone can do, starting today.

The fact that more than 60% of high school students answered that they "sometimes verify information" is a hope for the next generation. I feel that if we adults can nurture that attitude together, that would be great. For that reason, I myself must first carefully review how I deal with information on a daily basis—I was realizing that again while writing this article.

Summary

I will summarize the three points I wanted to convey in this article.

First, the fact that you are "confident that you can spot fakes" does not necessarily match your actual ability. Like the "Dunning-Kruger effect," there is an aspect where the more confident you are, the easier it is for your vigilance to weaken, and rather, the risk increases.

Next, the data that more than 60% of high school students "sometimes verify information" is a sure sign of hope. What is important is to cultivate the habit of "sometimes doing it" into "doing it naturally."

And finally, the habit of asking these three questions—"Where did the information come from?" "Who is sending it?" and "Why do I want to believe this?"—is the simplest and most powerful weapon for surviving the fake news era.

Avoiding fake news completely is very difficult in this day and age. However, cultivating the habit of pausing for a moment can be started from today. That attitude of yours, trying to face information with integrity, is already very important. You have already taken that first step.

Thank you very much for staying with me until the end. I would be happy if today's article could be a trigger for you to think about your steps from tomorrow onwards.

#FakeNews #MediaLiteracy #InformationLiteracy #HighSchoolStudents #MediaLiteracyDay