One in three girls suffers from mental issues for online misinfo: Survey

A recent study has found that one in three girls now suffer from mental health issues, including stress, worry and anxiety, from false information and lies on the internet.

Released Monday by the global NGO Plan International, the study also said one in five girls (20 per cent) fear for their physical safety. Many girls expressed fear of physical harm from responding to fake events and profiles online. 

The study was conducted on more than 26,000 girls and young women from 26 countries.

The survey also found that 65 per cent of girls and young people pointed to Facebook as the platform that contains the most erroneous information and misinformation, followed by TikTok, WhatsApp and YouTube, at 27 per cent.

Bhagyashri Dengle, executive director for Gender Transformative Policy at Plan International, said, “Our research makes clear that the spread of false information online has real-life consequences. It is dangerous, affects girls’ mental health, and is yet another thing holding them back from engaging in public life.”

“Every day, girls and young women in all their diversity are bombarded online with lies and stereotypes about their bodies, who they are, and how they should behave. Images and videos are manipulated to objectify and shame them. Rumours are spread as a form of abuse. And girls have a genuine fear that fake events and profiles will lure and trick them into danger offline.”

Under its Girls Get Equal campaign, Plan International also called on governments to take immediate action to increase children and young people’s digital literacy, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to identify false information and engage confidently in online spaces.

The organisation’s survey found that seven out of 10 girls and young women (67 per cent) have never been taught to spot misinformation or disinformation at school.