Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

Program Name/Specialization

Developmental Psychology

Faculty/School

Faculty of Science

First Advisor

Kim Roberts

Advisor Role

Thesis Advisor

Abstract

The plethora of information currently available via the internet is greater than ever before. Given this, finding credible information is an exceedingly complex task for any information consumer, but especially so for children. Research shows that children have difficulty evaluating the credibility of online information and are more susceptible to believing misinformation compared to adolescents. While a growing body of research addresses children’s internet use, most research focuses on technology safety rather than the evaluation of online information. Several studies have found digital information literacy (DIL) interventions to be successful at increasing critical thinking and awareness of the criteria to use when evaluating online web sources for children between the ages of 10- and 14-years. However, these scarce DIL interventions have not included children under the age of 10 years. Yet, children are using the internet for information-gathering at an earlier age and therefore, DIL interventions that target younger children are needed. In the current study, a DIL intervention was created that teaches children how to evaluate the credibility of online information. Sixty children between the ages of 8-12 years participated in a digital information literacy intervention that taught them how to evaluate the credibility of online websites. Children participated in three short Zoom sessions where they completed a pre-test, three lessons, and a post-test. Results showed that children significantly improved upon their credibility evaluation skills from pre- to post-test after having participated in the intervention. Additionally, younger and older children’s degree of improvement from pre- to post-test and overall performance on the credibility evaluation tasks did not differ. The results of this study highlight the need for digital information literacy interventions targeted towards children under the age of 10 years.

Key Words: Children, digital information literacy, website credibility

Convocation Year

2025

Convocation Season

Fall

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