Received:
2023-02-11 | Accepted:
2023-06-14 | Published:
2023-06-30
Title
The risks of misusing social networks in the context of hybrid threat
Abstract
The world today is ceaselessly under the influence of changing conditions and threats. The contemporary digital age enables the provision of information that serves not only as common information but also as disinformation and hoaxes. This risk is high, specifically on social networks, dramatically impacting society. The paper's main objective is to point out the danger of misusing social networks to spread disinformation as a hybrid threat to influence people's thinking and behaviour, thus endangering democratic processes in developed democratic countries. The study, which focused on the risks of misusing social networks, was conducted using the questionnaire method and was subsequently assessed using statistical tests. The results indicate no link between age and the ability to distinguish desinformation, and that age does not influence the effects of disinformation. However, we did find the opposite result in terms of education, where people with lower education share hoaxes and disinformation more. Alternative media, whose posts are shared by more than 20% of social network users, have a relatively strong presence in our environment. The possibilities of spreading disinformation are also evident in the social impacts on users, who, according to our study, fear lowering their economic well-being. The study focuses on the effects of social networks on individuals' thinking and behaviour. Because we consider this issue insufficiently studied thus far, attention must also be paid to it in the future.
Keywords
disinformation, hoaxes, social impacts, social networks, economic well-being
JEL classifications
H55
, O35
, Z13
URI
http://jssidoi.org/jesi/article/1097
DOI
Pages
357-371
Funding
The contribution was created as a result of the project: Research of educational concepts in the field of hybrid threats within selected EU countries with the subsequent elaboration of the education concept for SR conditions project code in ITMS2014+: 314011CDW7
This is an open access issue and all published articles are licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
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