“My pulse quickens every time someone says that children and young people are digital natives"

Critical thinking was challenging enough before today’s digital media landscape. 

Now we are confronted daily with an enormous number of messages, actors, and agendas on social media and digital platforms.

Researchers believe this makes it increasingly difficult to critically assess sources, especially for children and young people. They are still working to acquire knowledge and skills required for good source evaluation and media literacy.

Artificial intelligence and algorithm-driven platforms have made the media landscape even more complicated.

We are born critical, but what good does it do?

Basic intuitive abilities for critical thinking are naturally present within us from early childhood. 

This is according to Ingrid Lossius Falkum, a professor of linguistics and the philosophy of communication at the University of Oslo.

“For a long time it was believed that children are very gullible and blindly trust everything they are told. But research shows this is not the case. They are source-critical in quite advanced ways, even from the age of two,” she explains.

A series of experiments has shown that children have cognitive filters that enable them to evaluate statements and the person making them without being completely fooled.

They are relatively good at rejecting claims and statements that contradict what they already perceive as true, as long as the person saying it appears neutral.

Source evaluation is learned

What does this mean when facing today’s complex media landscape, where artificial intelligence and social media content influence children and young people?

“It's promising that even very young children have the ability and willingness to evaluate who they should trust most in different situations,” says Falkum.

Marte Blikstad-Balas, a professor at the University of Oslo's Faculty of Educational Sciences, agrees. 

But she does not subscribe to theories or views where children and young people are described as ‘digital natives’ or ‘globally digital natives,’ in the sense that they are able to navigate source evaluation in today’s global media culture.

The fact that the new generation of media users has entirely different media habits than older generations does not mean they automatically or intuitively acquire good source evaluation skills, she stresses.

Critical media literacy is absolutely essential

According to the Norwegian Media Authority, critical media literacy refers to the knowledge and skills we need to make good and informed choices about the media content we consume, share, and create.

Blikstad-Balas underscores that understanding how the media functions is vital when access to information is vast, yet much of it is incorrect or untrustworthy. 

This can include factual errors, rumors, scams, or politically motivated disinformation.

“My pulse quickens every time someone says that children and young people are digital natives. As far as I can see, there is no empirical evidence to suggest that generations of children gain high digital competence or increased understanding of digital media simply by being exposed to it. It's simply not true,” she says.

They may become very technically proficient and understand how things work, but they lack deep competence, she believes. 

It's easy to become passive and numb

The professor also warns against confusing technical fearlessness with competence.

According to the 2026 report ‘Caught in the Feed’ from the Norwegian Media Authority, it's not uncommon for adolescents to watch up to 40 videos per day on TikTok. Some watch several hundred in a single day.

“Critically assessing all the content flooding towards them online and on social media is a near-impossible task. I don’t know if it’s even possible. No one can be critical all the time; one can easily become passive and numb,” says Blikstad-Balas.

According to the researcher, young people report finding it difficult to navigate all the information. 

Algorithms and content generated by AI or actors with widely differing agendas make it extremely challenging. The report from the Norwegian Media Authority confirms this.

“When we as researchers talk to children and young people about this, they often reply that it's important to be critical and not be influenced. But then we know that they are influenced anyway,” she says.

Texts are never neutral

An article written by Linda Undrum at the University of South-Eastern Norway describes how pupils struggle to evaluate Instagram posts by influencers. 

Teenagers find it difficult to uncover the purpose of the texts and whose interests they serve.

Ingrid Lossius Falkum explains that texts are never neutral, but express underlying attitudes, values, and ideologies. 

She also points out that the developers of AI also have their own agendas, which can influence the content AI produces. At the same time, some people mistakenly believe that AI has intentions of its own, the way humans do.

“Attributing intentions to those we communicate with is a completely natural human inclination. We attribute human characteristics to AI as well, unconsciously and often unintentionally,” she explains.

Language models produce bullshit

In the 2024 article ChatGPT is bullshit, researchers Hicks, Humphries, and Slater at the University of Glasgow argue that large language models produce bullshit.

They claim that the models do not distinguish between true and false and do not even attempt to provide correct information.

Instead, they generate content without real intention or meaning, regardless of whether what is written is correct or incorrect.

“Evaluating content produced by AI requires a great deal of competence. This puts our source evaluation skills under intense pressure. Having to be constantly alert to the possibility of being misinformed is enormously resource-intensive cognitively,” says Falkum.

Nevertheless, she emphasises that language models are fantastic tools, and it's beneficial if we find good ways to use them that also stimulate learning.

Law professor critical of social media age limits

The Norwegian Media Authority has recently argued that authorities must set clear limits for what is acceptable in services used by children. 

Among other things, they recommend reducing risk by restricting access.

The government wants a 16-year age limit for social media use, a move both Falkum and Blikstad-Balas welcome. 

However, the proposal has faced criticism from several quarters, including researchers.

One of them is Stian Øby Johansen, now a professor at the University of Oslo's Faculty of Law.

In October 2025, he submitted a personal consultation response regarding the proposed law on age limits for social media. 

"The proposal should be put in a drawer"

Johansen claims that the proposed law's aim of protecting children and young people from harmful effects is not suited to achieving that goal. 

He also argues that the bill conflicts with the freedom of expression and information for children, adults, and social media providers.

“We should rather implement measures that make children safe in the digital environment than exclude them from it,” he says.

Johansen further claims that, among other things, the E-Commerce Directive, which is part of the EEA Agreement, prohibits Norway from creating unique national regulations on how foreign companies offer information services across borders.

“My conclusion is that the proposal should be put in a drawer, the drawer locked, and the key thrown away,” Johansen says.

You can listen to the Norwegian podcast episode below:

References:

Clément, F. To Trust or not to Trust? Children’s Social Epistemology (Abstract), Review of Philosophy and Psychology, 2010. DOI: 10.1007/s13164-010-0022-3

Hicks et al. ChatGPT is bullshit, Ethics and Information Technology, 2024. DOI: 10.1007/s10676-024-09775-5

Norwegian Media Authority: Fanget i feeden (Caught in the Feed), 2026.

Undrum, L.V.M. Kritisk tilnærming til tekster i sosiale medier - En studie av influenseres tekster på Instagram og unges utfordringer i møte med dem (A critical approach to texts in social media - A study of influencers’ texts on Instagram and challenges that arise when adolescents encounter the texts), Acta Didactica Norden, 2022. DOI: 10.5617/adno.8990

This content is paid for and presented by the University of Oslo

This content is created by the University of Oslo's communication staff, who use this platform to communicate science and share results from research with the public. The University of Oslo is one of more than 80 owners of ScienceNorway.no. Read more here.

More content from the University of Oslo:

• 

  This offers hope for people living with dementia

• 

  The pressure from magma can fold solid rock in less than one day

• 

  Study: Art can be a safe space for artists with minority backgrounds

• 

  Researchers have now identified a mechanism that may explain why some people have a higher risk of developing lymphoma

• 

  “Age limits on social media are a dead end”

• 

  Civil servants use research in different ways