{"id":9859,"date":"2023-05-09T08:59:53","date_gmt":"2023-05-09T13:59:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=9859"},"modified":"2023-05-08T19:20:45","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T00:20:45","slug":"may-14-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/may-14-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"May 14, 2023–What is Truth?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dave Delaney, Salem, VA<\/b><\/p>\n

Warm-up Question<\/b><\/h4>\n

In a real pinch or in a moment of real difficulty, who do you know who is absolutely on your side, who 100% has your back no matter what? Do you know anyone who has nobody they can depend on?<\/p>\n

What is Truth?<\/b><\/h4>\n

\u201cTeens who trust the news they read on social media feel less stress\u201d It\u2019s not what you know, it\u2019s who you know, or \u2013 rather \u2013 who you trust.\u00a0 <\/span>Researchers at Cornell University recently published results of a study<\/a> showing that trust in the news on social media can make a big difference in a teenager\u2019s well-being.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In the current age of misinformation and conspiracy theories, adolescents and young adults felt more empowered if they knew the information they read online was reliable. Those who were less trusting and more skeptical were more stressed out. Cornell Professor Adam Hoffman points out, \u201cIt\u2019s not just the sheer volume of social media use that\u2019s going to have this positive or negative effect. It\u2019s how you engage with social media news that will be more influential in determining how it impacts you.\u201d<\/p>\n

With COVID also came the rise of new types of behavior called \u201cdoom-scrolling,\u201d which is obsessively looking for negative and depressing news. For people trying to get away from the 24-hour stream of information, some practiced \u201cnews avoidance.\u201d All in all, the COVID pandemic sparked an \u201cinfodemic\u201d of misinformation, according to the World Health Organization.<\/p>\n

Trusting the news seemed to help teens\u2019 well-being, as they felt less left in the dark. However, the researchers warn that blindly trusting everything you read on social media can be just as bad. Creating news literacy programs to help students identify \u201cfake news\u201d and less credible sources will enable them to better distinguish fact from fiction.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just that we need to trust, but that we need to trust credible sources of news that are factually based and have been vetted,\u201d Hoffman explains. \u201cThat\u2019s how youth can be informed and have a positive sense of well-being and sense of self, and that\u2019s the best of both worlds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Discussion Questions<\/b><\/h4>\n