Online Information Disorder & Children
Hrishita Chakrabarti, Diletta Micol Tobia, Monica Landoni, and Maria Soledad Pera. 2025. “Online Information Disorder & Children”. In Proceedings of the 5th Workshop on Reducing Online Misinformation through Credible Information Retrieval (ROMCIR 2025), Vol. 3986, pp. 24-38. CEUR Workshop Proceedings.
Abstract
The rise of digital platforms for accessing online content — from popular search engines to social media sites — has contributed to the (un)intentional propagation of misleading information. This phenomenon, known as Information Disorder, affects individuals and society. Extensive research has been conducted to study and address Information Disorder as it pertains to the general population. Yet, little is known about how children, who have specific needs and behaviours when interacting with digital content, deal with misleading information and how the algorithms that underlie the information-access tools they use mitigate or exacerbate the issue. Through a systematic literature review, the authors present research efforts that address or discuss the impact of Information Disorder on children and their overall information-seeking experience. They analyse the literature from various perspectives, including children’s behaviour across platforms and the solutions developed to mitigate misleading information. Inspired by the knowledge distilled and gaps identified in the review, they discuss research directions that tackle both technological and human-centred challenges children face when dealing with misleading information, seeking to establish a foundation to mitigate the effects of Information Disorder among children.