The majority of social media users share links to online news articles without even reading them, according to a new study.
From 2017 to 2020, experts from U.S. universities analyzed over 35 million public posts on Facebook that included URLs during key moments in the American political cycle.
They found that 75% of these links were shared without a click. For instance, a user might repost a news headline and its brief summary without reading the article or verifying the facts.
Related"The results are quite telling and simultaneously alarming," the study published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour states. "This could potentially explain why misinformation spreads so rapidly through social media."
Why do people share information without reading it?
Researchers believe that users share information without clicking due to the "hasty" nature of online interactions and the desire to stay ahead of others.
"One reason for this may be information overload in personal and social networks, which pressures online users and drives them to be quick, often relying on simple, superficial signals," the authors write.
As a result, social media users feel more informed about scientific information and politics than they actually are, the report notes.
The study found that individuals who openly support one of the political parties are more likely to share news without clicks than those who consider themselves politically neutral.
RelatedHowever, the authors acknowledge that this trend might be influenced by a small number of hyperactive engaged accounts and communities on Facebook that tend to repost content to amplify its reach.
The study did not account for users who may have read the content on another platform and then reposted the same link without clicking.
Nonetheless, the authors recommend that companies operating on social media develop general warnings before posting, so users are aware of the risks associated with sharing such materials.