Shane Dawson, 5G phone networks and the spread of conspiracies for teens

Misinformation constantly circulates on the internet. For teenagers, discerning whether information is real or fake is becoming increasingly difficult. 

According to Forbes, teens spend an average of almost five hours a day on social media, which creates more opportunities for them to be susceptible to misinformation and conspiracies. 

One such example is Shane Dawson’s widely popular, teen-oriented YouTube videos that explore far-fetched theories, including iPhones secretly recording their owners, Chuck E. Cheese recycling pizza slices and claims that the deadly wildfires in California were due to a high-power, military-operated laser beam. Although he never explicitly agrees with any conspiracy theories, Dawson promotes this unverifiable information by leaning on the predominantly young fanbase that he built throughout a decade-long YouTube career focusing on content for kids and teens. By incorporating concepts familiar to young people, Dawson portrays conspiratorial thinking in a way that is palatable to teens.

Dawson is not the only one who spreads unverified information online. According to Statista, a survey on online misinformation conducted in December 2020 reports that 38.2% of people had inadvertently spread misinformation on social media. Senior Sean Carver primarily gets updated on current events through apps like TikTok and Instagram reels. “I spend at least two or three hours on TikTok, and that’s lowballing it admittedly,” he said. The content that is viewed on TikTok differs from user to user, and Carver offered further insight into some of TikTok’s content. “I actually see a ton of flat Earth stuff [on TikTok]. It’s really entertaining.”

While sometimes entertaining, the unverified information on social media can lead to far more serious consequences for teens. The Center for Countering Digital Hate found that 60% of 13 to 17-year-old Americans agreed with four or more harmful conspiracies — which included anti-vaccine statements, racist rhetoric and COVID-19 misinformation — in comparison to 49% of adults. 

There is a reason why conspiracy theories are more popular with teens than adults: They provide explanations for confusing happenings in the world. Because teens often have less understanding of how the world works, they are more likely to believe the first thing they hear, even if it is false — a phenomenon known as anchor bias. 

These findings explain why conspiratorial thinking was strong in the days of COVID-19 when fear swept the globe and lockdowns severed many teenagers’ social bonds. Teenagers leaned on far-fetched beliefs, such as the belief that 5G mobile phone networks caused COVID-19, to cope with the isolation of the pandemic. Many videos regarding this conspiracy theory spread on TikTok, with creators seeking to discredit people who presented evidence that contradicted their perspective on the matter. 

The spread of these polarizing viewpoints further encourages conspiratorial thinking. With over 10 million videos relating to the “deep state” conspiracy on TikTok, the constant circulation of peoples’ testimonies fuels this conspiracy, which makes users more likely to be exposed to additional conspiracies. Such a phenomenon is an example of an echo chamber, an environment where users encounter beliefs that reinforce their already established thought processes and isolate them from outside perspectives. 

Conspiracy theories gain traction on these apps as individuals cherry-pick information from their original source to reinforce assumptions they have already made. Senior Tswb Vang said, “I think conspiracy thinking is the opposite of critical thinking. Because a lot of it is just people impulsively taking in one thing they hear and creating a big thing about it. […] They just believe what they think is right.” 

Teens start believing in conspiracy theories for a variety of psychological reasons, including the allure of exclusivity. “It’s so easy to just dive into these theories,” said junior Emily Ren. “You have this exclusivity. People who are joining these conspiracy groups feel like they know something that other people don’t, that they’re in on something, which adds to the entire glamor of it.”

The damage caused by the perpetuation of these unfounded beliefs has a significant impact on the way teens use the internet and search for clarity. There is some novelty in the more outrageous camps of conspiratorial thinking, but the distortion of realities can have a serious impact on the way teens perceive the world.