Open Your Eyes….Wide Open

Information is literally everywhere. News, updates, likes, shares, texts, tweets are ever-flowing, on various platforms. The digital revolution is not upon us- it is us. Nowhere is this perhaps more clear than with the Millennial generation. They are a source of information and a consumer of it. Unsurprisingly, understanding the complicated relationship Millennials have with media can be a challenge. Our new TV network, pivot, focuses on this conflicted demographic and released a study today that sheds light on what Millennials are thinking when they’re sharing, tweeting, updating, etc. This study is one of the first of a long list of resources that make up Eyes Wide Open— the channel’s commitment to digital and media literacy. The campaign seeks to address many of the concerns brought to light in the recent study, where the findings were….. eye opening.

Credibility and bias

When asked, 80% of Millennials said that it’s hard to know which sources one can trust to deliver the truth. Clearly, this is a group that understands what original reporting is but isn’t necessarily sure where to get it. It begs the question, is media misleading its audience? According to this group, they do believe that they are being misled and most, 84%, believe that all news and information is presented with some amount of bias. Interesting then that more than a third claim to frequently share information or news without checking the source of the story. Further to this point, the majority of respondents (72%) state that among their friends, they are considered a valuable source of news and information. The lack of confidence this group feels about the accuracy of the media they are consuming does not seem to deter sharing the same information. This attitude is consistent throughout the study; Millennials are, at the same time, discerning yet open in their media habits.

Privacy

Outdated laws enable unprecedented access to citizens’ emails, phone calls, and geographic location, and experts believe the Millennial generation has the least 4^thAmendment protection in history. While Millennials are more likely than older Internet users to control what they share on social networking sites – they are also more likely to allow access to their personal data. However, the recent pivot study uncovered Millennials’ drive for greater access and understanding of data privacy and a call for transparency. 64% feel that they are not as savvy as they could be about keeping their online information private and 83% wish there were an easier way to understand internet privacy. 67% of respondents claim to be less concerned about their personal privacy when they understand how their information is being used and by whom. The concern here seems to be not a lack of awareness of the changing landscape of media but rather, a lack of understanding how to navigate the landscape. pivot TV seeks to build a roadmap to empower a new tribe of savvy media users.

Eyes Wide Open

Eyes Wide Open is a pivot TV sponsored digital and media literacy campaign that seeks to better educate Millennials on the power and pitfalls of media and offer them pragmatic tips about:

Considering the sources of the information they consume
Recognizing their own role in producing and sharing content
Exploring the trade-offs inherent in giving up personal information online

Building off of the data learned in this recent study, Eyes Wide Open is creating resources to help Millennials feel more confident about the information they’re sharing and more protected by the terms they are (or are not) agreeing to.

Pivot and Eyes Wide Open launch August 1^st, find out more about the launch here.

Infographic highlighting the research insights here!

Christina Lindstrom, Senior Director of Social Action Strategy & Business Development