The right moment for digital safety: capturing critical opportunities for media literacy
Qualitative research exploring how ‘moments of need’– such as encountering misinformation and hateful content - can drive uptake of media literacy support.
Documents
Details
Adults and children are regularly exposed to an overwhelming volume of online content and information – both benign and harmful – that hinders their ability to proactively take action to protect and educate themselves. Bridging this gap between the provision of media literacy initiatives and their uptake is crucial to ensure users feel empowered and safe online.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology commissioned the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) to explore how behavioural insights can be applied to address this issue.
This research investigated how ‘moments of need’ can trigger engagement with media literacy resources. These moments represent opportunities to provide the right skills and information at the right time, when individuals may be more likely to take up support. The study also explored how people perceive and respond to these moments, and the barriers and facilitators that influence their actions.
Findings show that while moments of need are often recognised, people’s ability to respond is shaped by factors such as:
- their own level of digital inclusion, cognitive overload
- complicated and inconsistent online choice architecture
Participants were more likely to take action when they had access to support networks, trusted messengers such as:
- schools or online groups
- simple, consistent platform features like the ‘three dots’ menu
A personal connection to the content – such as information affecting themselves or their children, also increased motivation to respond.
The study highlights opportunities to:
- design more targeted, user-friendly interventions that reflect real-life experiences
- equip people with the skills and confidence to respond effectively to online risks