Vulnerability to the infodemic in early youth: Diagnosis and factors

Abstract

In today’s hybrid reality with its avalanche of information, an infodemic may pose a serious challenge to the security of society and an individual. The early youth age is at a particular risk due to age-related characteristics such as active identity formation, search for ity and high involvement in the digital environment coupled with a lack of critical content assessment skills. The paucity of tools to evaluate a person’s vulnerability to misinformation makes it difficult to identify risks in a timely manner and plan preventive measures, hence the relevance and practical value of this study. The article presents an original approach to assessing the potential exposure of high-school students to an infodemic and an analysis of cognitive, emotional-regulatory and personal determinants of this trend. To diagnose the vulnerability of high-school students to misinformation, a questionnaire was compiled based on the degree sisted of 120 high-school students from the Republic of Mari El (2023–2025). The respondents were classified into groups with low and high (about one third of the participants) potential exposure to an infodemic based on the number of false statements selected. To identify significant factors, we carried out a comparative analysis of diagnostic data using valid methods of critical thinking, emotional intelligence, locus of control, suggestibility and early maladaptive schemas in two selected groups. Quantitative analysis using the Mann–Whitney U-test revealed substantial differences in the studied parameters (p≤0.05) between the groups. The core of vulnerability to the infodemic was found to incorporate a complex of factors: a reduced ability to critically analyze information, an external locus of control, increased suggestibility and empathy, maladaptive cognitive schemas (‘abandonment’, ‘seeking approval’, ‘submission’, etc.). These findings present the proposed approach to diagnosing vulnerability to the infodemic as a potential working tool for screening risk groups, also revealing it as a multifactorial phenomenon. The data obtained are of practical importance to psychological and pedagogical practice. They point to the targets of preventive interventions aimed at promoting critical thinking, emotional competence and digital hygiene in adolescents and youth.