Abstract

Social media has become a platform many use to connect with others and to learn and spread new information. However, concerns have been raised regarding the general population’s media literacy skills. These concerns have only grown as more and more people use social media to share information about mental and neurodevelopmental disorders that may not be entirely true. As misinformation regarding mental disorders has grown, as has self-diagnosis rates, particularly for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Little research exists on how adept college students are at discerning between accurate and inaccurate information, especially when it comes to ASD. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between social media, media literacy, and self-diagnosis in college students. Our study had a total number of 156 participants. Our study utilized a between-subjects experimental design and was made up of two conditions: an accurate information condition and an inaccurate information condition. The study focused on perceived believability of information, self-diagnosing behaviors, knowledge of ASD, and social media variables such as impact on anxiety levels. Our main hypothesis was that participants given inaccurate information will be more likely to rate the information as believable than those given accurate information. The study found no significant difference in believability ratings between conditions, suggesting that the average student cannot discern between accurate and inaccurate ASD information.

Semester/Year of Award

Spring 2025

Mentor

Cassie M. Whitt

Mentor Department Affiliation

Psychology

Access Options

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Honors Scholars

Degree Level

Bachelors

Department

Psychology

IRB Approval Number (if applicable)

#6279

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