Latvia media literacy study: index rises to 6.4 out of 10
The third study of media literacy among Latvian residents shows the index rose from 5.7 to 6.4 points on a ten-point scale within a year. The result is still only middling, and problems remain across age groups.
Latvia has published its third study on residents' media literacy, meaning their ability to navigate the media and judge the information they find online and on social networks. The index rose from 5.7 to 6.4 points on a ten-point scale in a year. The situation has improved, but the result is still fairly mediocre. There are small gains among pensioners and ethnic minorities, whose media literacy causes the greatest concern.
Nearly everyone is online
About 98% of residents use the internet and social networks. Most believe they use them well, but surveys point the other way. The information found online varies widely, and some of it is false or dangerous.
What the trends show
Older people are using TikTok more and more. An 11-year-old girl in the study said that on Telegram there are drug and vape shops and alcohol with night delivery, and that such accounts are rarely banned.
One in five residents turns to artificial intelligence for help, and among young people more than a third do. About two thirds of residents avoid the news all the time or sometimes. These people are tired and feel hopeless. Politicians are active on the platform X, while residents spend more time on other social networks.
A 73-year-old woman in the study described the news as brainwashing.
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