More than half of people in Ireland (57%) struggle to tell the difference between real news and fake news on the internet, according to new research.<\/p>\n
The new wide-ranging report on digital usage also found that 85% of people feel that fake news is a major problem for the world today.<\/p>\n
Just under three-quarters (74%) said they rely on multiple sources for their news, while just under two-thirds (65%) believe that news from traditional news providers is trustworthy.<\/p>\n
Only 16% said that the news on social media platforms is trustworthy, however, this figure increased to 28% among those aged 18 to 24. Overall, 57% of those who took part in the survey said it was difficult to discern what news was real, and what news was fake on social media.<\/p>\n
In terms of social media usage generally, the report found that 76% of Irish people use social media platforms and messaging services across their devices.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, 42% said they had stopped using at least one platform, either on a temporary or permanent basis, over the past year.<\/p>\n
Those who did cited a number of reasons for their decision including:<\/p>\n
A huge number of respondents stopped using one or more social media platforms, either temporarily or permanently, in the last year. A perception of too much fake news and the content being too negative were among the top reasons given for this, said Daryl Hansberry of Deloitte, which carried out the research.<\/p>\n
There was also a significant amount who felt that it wasnt making them feel good about themselves along with a small, but still significant, amount who were experiencing bullying or harassment, he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Hansberry added that the findings of the report were timely, given the Governments recent announcement of the establishment of a new Media Commission.<\/p>\n
Deloitte's Digital Consumer Trends report also asked people about their smart device usage habits on the whole. On a day-to-day basis, smartphones were comfortably the most used device at 94%.<\/p>\n
79% used a smart TV, 69% used a smartwatch, 65% used a laptop, 60% used a desktop computer, 56% used a voice-assisted smart speaker, 53% used a tablet such as an iPad, 50% used wireless headphones or earphones and 32% used an eReader such as a Kindle. Just under one-third (31%) used a games console.<\/p>\n
Phone usage <\/p>\n
As regards phone usage itself, 29% admitted to looking at their phone more than 50 times each day, increasing to 37% among 18 to 24s, while 12% said they check their smartphone over 100 times each day.<\/p>\n
The report found that, on average, men check their phones 49 times per day, with women checking theirs 58 times per day.<\/p>\n
74% of people said they check their phone within 30 minutes of waking up, with 37% checking it within five minutes.<\/p>\n
The Covid-19 pandemic also changed the ways in which Irish people used their smart devices in 2021.<\/p>\n
Unsurprisingly, online shopping for items other than groceries saw the biggest uptick in the past two years, with 33% of people saying they do this more now than they did pre-pandemic.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, 29% of people said they streamed more films or TV series now than they did before, and 28% said they used online banking more.<\/p>\n
Other specific reasons for device use that increased during the pandemic included:<\/p>\n
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More than half of Irish people struggle to discern real news from fake news online - Irish Examiner<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" More than half of people in Ireland (57%) struggle to tell the difference between real news and fake news on the internet, according to new research. The new wide-ranging report on digital usage also found that 85% of people feel that fake news is a major problem for the world today Continue reading