Why are older adults more likely to share misinformation online?

They have greater tendency to seek out, believe material that conforms to pre-existing views, expert says.

Originally published by Sy Boles Harvard Staff Writer on the Harvard Gazette, as per Media Relations guidelines page.

Image: Andrea Piacquadio / pexels

Older adults tend to do well at identifying falsehoods in experiments, but they’re also likelier than younger adults to like and share misinformation online.

That paradox was at the heart of a recent lecture as part of the Misinformation Speaker Series at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy.

The answer, according to Ben Lyons, a University of Utah communications assistant professor who studies media, politics, and misinformation, is partisanship and congeniality bias, essentially the tendency to seek out and believe information that supports pre-existing views while avoiding and dismissing conflicting data.

“Older adults show a lot more congeniality bias,” said Lyons, who published a paper in 2024 in Public Opinion Quarterly on the issue. “Older adults value accuracy, at least in their self-reports, but these age-linked political traits — interest and sophistication and intensity of partisan effects— might reshape what counts as accurate in practice, filtering truth through partisan identity.”

In his study, Lyons analyzed survey experiments of about 10,000 respondents and internet usage data from about 4,500 people. He found that adults older than 60 were about as skeptical of false headlines, on average, as younger people.

Despite that, older adults tended to be likelier to read and share misinformation than younger ones.

“Digital literacy does in fact decrease with age, not surprisingly.” — Ben Lyons

Lyons investigated common explanations for the paradox: that older adults have poorer digital literacy and that cognitive decline in some cases may exert a greater influence on decision-making.

The data, he found, were not so straightforward.

“Digital literacy does in fact decrease with age, not surprisingly,” Lyons said. “But news literacy is always higher in these samples; news literacy increases with age.”

In other words, adults over 60 had less skill and understanding of online environments, but more understanding of how news is produced.

Lyons also questioned the common wisdom that cognitive aging could make older adults more vulnerable to accepting online misinformation.

Cognitive aging is not all decline, he said. Older adults might lose episodic memory, processing speed, and fluid abilities, but they often score higher on tests of semantic memory, general knowledge, and emotional regulation — characteristics that might actually help them understand and engage with misinformation online.

To test that theory, Lyons looked at cognitive reflection — the ability to override initial responses that are intuitive but incorrect. That faculty increases with age, Lyons said, but the link between cognitive reflection and discernment decreases with age.

“Having greater cognitive reflection is associated with much more rejection of false news for younger adults … and for older adults, we see much less of an effect of cognitive reflection on their discernment.”

The same is true for emotional reactivity to the news.

“Older adults tend to rely more on prior knowledge, as a rule, as a general finding, to reduce cognitive load.” — Ben Lyons

Busting those myths helped Lyons home in on his theory of partisanship and congeniality bias.

“Older adults tend to rely more on prior knowledge, as a rule, as a general finding, to reduce cognitive load,” he explained. “But their prior knowledge, based on this consistently stronger partisanship, at least in the political domain, is more likely to be politically biased.”

But ultimately, Lyons noted, while a greater proportion of older adults share misinformation online than younger cohorts, the total percentage is still small.

Lyons was the final guest in the Shorenstein Center’s Misinformation Speaker Series in fall 2025. The series will resume this spring.

Also read:

• Understanding Online Rage: Why Digital Anger Feels Amplified

• From Kathmandu to Casablanca, a generation under surveillance is rising up

by External Contributor via Digital Information World

Understanding Online Rage: Why Digital Anger Feels Amplified

New research from a UBC Okanagan alumna suggests that difference is not accidental—it’s shaped by context, distance and the design of online spaces themselves.

Image: Sena Aykut / Pexels

Clare Wiznura focused her interdisciplinary studies master’s thesis on identifying anger in online environments, analyzing how people express frustration, hostility and outrage across social media and survey-based interactions.

“One of the biggest differences we saw was how controlled people were when they believed they were speaking directly to someone,” Wiznura says. “Even when participants were clearly upset, they were more measured. They asked questions. They avoided using all capital letters and insults. That restraint largely disappeared in more general online spaces.”

The research examined both general online commentary and direct, interpersonal communication to understand how language changes depending on who is being addressed—and how.

Wiznura’s research found that general social media comment sections were far more likely to contain what researchers describe as “hot” anger—language that is loud, aggressive and emotionally charged. In contrast, interpersonal exchanges showed greater emotional regulation, even when disagreement or frustration was present.

“This aligns with something we intuitively know,” Wiznura says. “Online, there’s often a decreased sense of social presence. People feel more comfortable being mean in ways they likely wouldn’t be in person, even though we know these are still real people on the other side.”

A key takeaway from the research was the importance of context. More than half of survey participants said they could not confidently interpret whether language was angry or hostile without knowing what it was responding to, or what relationship existed between speakers.

“The same words could be interpreted very differently depending on the situation,” says Wiznura. “People repeatedly said, ‘If this was the context, then, yes, it’s angry. If it’s another context, maybe not.’ That makes emotional language much harder to categorize than we often assume.”

The research also examined rage bait—content intentionally designed to provoke outrage and drive engagement. Wiznura notes that rage bait does not require the original poster to be angry themselves.

“Rage bait has become a significant factor in how anger circulates online,” says Dr. Christine Schreyer, Professor of Anthropology and Wiznura’s supervisor. “People may not be angry themselves, but they are deliberately provoking anger in others. Clare’s research highlights how important it is to account for that dynamic when studying language and emotion in digital spaces.”

The research arrives amid growing public conversation about online outrage and engagement-driven platforms.

Oxford University Press named “rage bait” its Word of the Year for 2025, reflecting how widely the concept has entered everyday language. For Dr. Schreyer, the label is useful but the behaviour behind it has been visible for longer.

“Words of the Year reflect an emphasis in society, something that represents a snapshot in time. The fact that rage bait is Oxford’s 2025 Word of the Year indicates the cultural significance of online discourse in contemporary society,” says Dr. Schreyer.

Wiznura is careful not to overextend the findings, particularly when asked to draw broad conclusions about society.

“It’s very easy to feel connected through social media, but that connection is fundamentally different from in-person relationships,” says Wiznura. “There’s real value in what we sometimes call ‘third spaces’—libraries, community centres, places where people gather without a screen in between.

“We’ve known for a while that online spaces impact how we communicate. Understanding how anger works in those environments is a necessary step toward engaging with each other more thoughtfully.”

Media Contact: David Bidwell - Writer/Content Strategist - University Relations - Tel: 2508083042 - E-mail: david.bidwell@ubc.ca

This article was originally published on The University of British Columbia (UBC) Okanagan News. The title has been changed with the help of AI. Republished under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Read next:

• From Kathmandu to Casablanca, a generation under surveillance is rising up

by External Contributor via Digital Information World

From Kathmandu to Casablanca, a generation under surveillance is rising up

Amani Braa, Université de Montréal

Image: Heather Mount / Unsplash

In 2025, youth-led protests erupted everywhere from Morocco to Nepal, Madagascar and Europe. A generation refused to remain silent in the face of economic precariousness, corruption and eroding democratic norms and institutions.

Although they arose in different contexts, all the protests were met with the same playbook of responses: repression, contempt and suspicion towards youth dismissed as irresponsible.

Mobilization across several continents

In Morocco, the #Gen212 movement, which originated on social media, denounced the high cost of living, police violence, muzzling of civil society and lack of opportunities. This mobilization, which began digitally on platforms such as Discord, quickly spilled over from screens into concrete action taken in several cities across the country.

In Madagascar, young people took to the streets at the end of September in a climate of high pre-election tensions to demand real change before being violently repressed. In Nepal, thousands of young people occupyied public spaces, demanding genuine democracy and an end to the corruption that is undermining the country.

In Europe, too, youth are mobilizing against authoritarian excesses and persistent inequalities. In Italy, France, and Spain, young people are taking to the streets to protest gender-based violence, unpopular reforms and police repression and to demand recognition of their political rights.

Although the contexts are very different, these mobilizations share the same goal of refusing injustice and demanding that marginalized voices be heard.

Authorities call youth immature and irrational

These movements are often treated as fleeting emotional outbursts, even though they express structured political demands for social justice, freedom, economic security, access to dignity and participation.

Yet the responses by governments have been heading in a totally different direction — towards increased repression. Young protesters are being monitored, arrested, stigmatized and sometimes accused of treason or of being manipulated by foreign powers.

In Morocco, for example, nearly 2,500 young people have been prosecuted, with more than 400 convicted — including 76 minors — since September 2025. The charges include “group rebellion,” “incitement to commit crimes” and participating in armed gatherings. More than 60 prison sentences have been handed down, some of them for up to 15 years.

This mass judicialization of a peaceful movement has been denounced by Amnesty International, which points to excessive uses of force and the increasing criminalization of protest.

In Madagascar, the response was just as brutal: at least 22 deaths, more than 100 injuries and hundreds of arbitrary arrests were recorded during youth demonstrations against corruption and electoral irregularities.

According to the United Nations, security forces used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowds. The crisis culminated in the flight of President Andry Rajoelina, which confirmed that, far from defusing the conflict, the crackdown revealed institutions’ fragility in the face of politicized youth.

A discourse referring to parental responsibility

The actions of the young people who have been arrested during recent protests are often attributed to lack of parental responsibility.

In Morocco, for example, the Home Office has called on parents to supervise and guide their children. In Indonesia, the Philippines, Peru and Nepal alike, authorities call on parents to supervise, guide or restrain their children, shifting the political conflict into the family sphere.

This trend illustrates what national security researcher Fatima Ahdash calls the “familialization” of politics: instead of addressing the social, economic and ideological causes of protests, governments turn them into a matter of home education, depoliticizing, individualizing and privatizing the protests in the process. Families become the prism through which young people’s political behaviour is interpreted, evaluated and sometimes punished.

This response isn’t new, but it’s taking on unprecedented proportions in a global context of democratic fragility and authoritarian recentring of power marked by the restriction of freedoms, the control of protest and the criminalization of social movements.

States are adopting a defensive stance, treating youth engagement not as a civic resource but as a threat to be neutralized. This hardened stance is symptomatic of a deeper problem: youth are refusing to be satisfied with empty promises and forced compromises, but they face powers unable to recognize the legitimacy of their anger and aspirations..

Silencing criticism

Image: Jack Skinner / Unsplash

Repression in response to criticism has become a tactic governments use to avoid being questioned. But this strategy is becoming increasingly fragile.

That’s because first, it denies the legitimacy of the anger being expressed. Secondly, it ignores a fundamental reality: that this anger is rooted in collective experiences of social decline, discrimination and political powerlessness. It’s not empty anger. It expresses a demand for social, political and environmental change that institutions are struggling to grasp.

Unlike mobilizations likr the Arab Spring of 2011, the current protests led by Generation Z are horizontal; they are decentralized, have no identifiable leaders, and are rooted in the urgency of the present.

They also originate on social media, organize themselves into autonomous micro-cells, reject structuring ideological narratives, and favour a politics of everyday life — meaning they reject precariousness while calling for immediate dignity and concrete justice.

Their esthetic is fluid, borrowing from digital codes — memes, manga, visual remixes — and their forms circulate through emotional affinities rather than imitation. This makes them elusive to the powers that be, but powerfully viral.

These movements stir up political emotions (anger, but also hope) and create new languages, digital practices and forms of engagement that often lie outside traditional parties.

One unifying visual element keeps coming up: the black flag with a skull and crossbones wearing a straw hat, a symbol taken from the manga One Piece. More than just a nod to pop culture, this Jolly Roger embodies a thirst for justice, freedom and rebellion shared by a globalized youth, from Kathmandu to Rome.

In Serbia, for example, a student uprising in early 2025 with no visible leader united thousands of people around a simple slogan: more democracy. The movement spread to other generations, without any party or hierarchy, challenging a government that tried to stifle the protests through force and stigmatization.

Evading censorship

Meanwhile, the young people of Cuba Decide are mobilizing on digital platforms to demand a democratic referendum in the midst of constant surveillance. Thanks to encrypted tools and alliances abroad, they are circumventing censorship and amplifying their voices beyond borders.

While criminalizing young people and their protests may slow their momentum, it doesn’t solve anything. It only undermines the social contract, fuels political disenchantment and reinforces polarization. What’s more, it risks pushing demands for reform to outright refusal of the status quo.

Recent protests remind us of an obvious fact: young people are not “the future,” but political entities in the present. Governments need to hear not just the noise of protest, but the clarity of the demands: justice, dignity, representation and a future.

Amani Braa, Assistant lecturer, Université de Montréal

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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• From our sponsors: How Automated Internal Links and Image Alt Texts Improve Modern SEO Performance

by External Contributor via Digital Information World

How Automated Internal Links and Image Alt Texts Improve Modern SEO Performance

Search engine optimization has evolved far beyond keywords and backlinks. Today, technical efficiency, content structure, and accessibility play a critical role in how websites are crawled, understood, and ranked. Two often underestimated but highly impactful elements are internal linking and image alt texts. When these processes are automated, they can significantly improve SEO performance while saving time and reducing human error.

This article explores how automated internal links and automated image alt text solutions support scalable SEO strategies, enhance user experience, and help websites meet modern search engine expectations.

The Role of Internal Linking in SEO

Internal linking refers to the practice of linking pages within the same website. These links guide users, distribute authority across pages, and help search engines understand content relationships.

Effective internal linking helps search engines:

• Discover new and updated pages faster
• Understand topic hierarchy and content relevance
• Pass link equity throughout the site
• Improve crawl efficiency

For users, internal linking improves navigation, increases time on site, and helps them find relevant information more easily.

However, maintaining a strong internal linking structure becomes increasingly difficult as websites grow. Large blogs, ecommerce platforms, and content-heavy websites often struggle to keep links updated, relevant, and evenly distributed.

Why Manual Internal Linking No Longer Scales

Traditionally, internal linking has been handled manually by editors or SEO specialists. While this approach works for small websites, it becomes inefficient at scale.

Common challenges include:

• Outdated links pointing to removed or redirected pages
• Orphan pages with no internal links
• Over-optimization of anchor texts
• Inconsistent linking logic across content
• High time investment for content teams

As websites publish hundreds or thousands of pages, manual internal linking becomes error-prone and difficult to maintain. This is where automated internal links provide a practical solution.

What Are Automated Internal Links?

Automated internal links use rule-based or AI-assisted systems to create contextual links between pages automatically. These systems analyze page content, keywords, and structure to determine where links should be added.

Automated internal linking tools typically:

• Identify relevant anchor texts naturally within content
• Link to related pages based on topic relevance
• Avoid duplicate or excessive linking
• Continuously update links as new content is published

By automating this process, websites can maintain a strong internal linking structure without manual intervention.

SEO Benefits of Automated Internal Linking

Automated internal links deliver several measurable SEO advantages.

First, they improve crawlability. Search engines rely on internal links to discover pages. Automated systems ensure that new content is linked quickly and consistently.

Second, they distribute authority more evenly. Instead of a few pages receiving most internal links, automation helps spread link equity across the site.

Third, they enhance topical relevance. Automated internal linking reinforces semantic connections between related pages, which helps search engines understand content depth and expertise.

Finally, they reduce maintenance overhead. SEO teams can focus on strategy and content quality rather than repetitive linking tasks.

Internal Linking and Content Clusters

Modern SEO increasingly relies on content clusters and topic authority. Internal linking plays a central role in this strategy.

In a cluster model:

• A pillar page covers a broad topic
• Supporting pages explore subtopics in detail
• Internal links connect the cluster logically

Automated internal links support this structure by dynamically linking related content as clusters grow. This ensures consistency even as new articles are added over time.

The Importance of Image Alt Texts in SEO

Images contribute significantly to user engagement, but search engines cannot interpret images visually. Instead, they rely on alt texts to understand image content.

Alt texts serve multiple purposes:

• Improve image search visibility
• Enhance accessibility for screen readers
• Provide context when images fail to load
• Reinforce page relevance through descriptive text

From an SEO perspective, well-written alt texts help search engines associate images with page topics and keywords.

Challenges of Writing Alt Texts Manually

Writing alt texts manually is often overlooked or done inconsistently. Common issues include:

• Missing alt attributes
• Overly generic descriptions
• Keyword stuffing
• Inaccurate or irrelevant descriptions
• Inconsistent formatting across pages

On large websites with hundreds or thousands of images, manually writing alt texts becomes unrealistic.

This is where automated image alt text generation becomes essential.

What Is Automated Image Alt Text Generation?

Automated image alt text solutions analyze images and surrounding content to generate descriptive, context-aware alt texts automatically.

These systems typically:

• Detect image subject matter
• Incorporate surrounding text context
• Generate concise, readable descriptions
• Avoid keyword overuse
• Apply consistent formatting across the site

By automating alt texts, websites ensure accessibility and SEO compliance without manual effort.

SEO and Accessibility Benefits of Automated Alt Texts

Automated image alt text improves SEO in several ways.

First, it enhances image search performance. Proper alt texts increase the likelihood of images appearing in image search results.

Second, it improves page relevance. Alt texts support the overall topical signals of a page.

Third, it strengthens accessibility. Search engines increasingly value user experience, including accessibility standards.

Finally, it reduces technical SEO gaps. Missing alt attributes are a common audit issue that automation can eliminate entirely.

How Automated Internal Links and Alt Texts Work Together

While automated internal links and automated image alt texts address different aspects of SEO, they complement each other.

Together, they:

• Improve crawl efficiency
• Strengthen content structure
• Enhance semantic understanding
• Reduce manual SEO tasks
• Support scalable content growth

Internal linking focuses on relationships between pages, while alt texts focus on understanding visual content. Combined, they create a more complete and search-friendly website.

Automation and Long-Term SEO Strategy

Automation is not about replacing SEO expertise. It is about removing repetitive tasks so teams can focus on strategy, content quality, and user experience.

By automating internal linking and alt text generation:

• SEO becomes more consistent
• Human errors are reduced
• New content is optimized instantly
• Technical debt is minimized over time

This approach is especially valuable for growing websites, content platforms, and businesses managing large digital ecosystems.

Common Myths About SEO Automation

Some website owners worry that automation leads to low-quality SEO. In reality, the opposite is often true when automation is implemented correctly.

Well-designed automation:

• Follows best practices
• Avoids over-optimization
• Adapts as content grows
• Maintains consistency at scale

Automation does not remove control; it enhances it by applying rules consistently across the site.

Measuring the Impact of Automated SEO Elements

The impact of automated internal links and alt texts can be measured through:

• Improved crawl statistics
• Better index coverage
• Increased organic traffic
• Higher engagement metrics
• Fewer technical SEO issues

Over time, these improvements compound, making automation a long-term investment rather than a short-term fix.

Final Thoughts

As SEO becomes more complex, efficiency and consistency are no longer optional. Automated internal links and automated image alt text generation address two critical areas that are difficult to manage manually at scale.

Internal linking strengthens site structure and topical authority, while alt texts improve accessibility and image visibility. When automated, these elements work continuously in the background, ensuring that websites remain optimized as they grow.

For modern SEO strategies focused on sustainability, automation is not a shortcut — it is a necessity.

Image by jcomp on Freepik / https://tinyurl.com/ysa9zhym

Note: This is paid content and does not necessarily reflect the views of this publication. AI assistance may have been used during creation of this post.

by Sponsored Content via Digital Information World

Online Shopping Scam Reports – How To Spot Patterns In Frauds

Researchers at privacy company Incogni have conducted a study of online shopping scam reports reaching back nearly five years. Just after the holiday season, their study aimed to uncover patterns and trends in scams reportedly affecting consumers. By examining a large, up-to-date dataset, they were able to provide consumers with correlations and warning signs that could help keep them—and their wallets—protected during the seasonal retail rush.

The study involved processing and analyzing 121,000 consumer reports alleging retail (online shopping) scams. These reports were submitted to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) between January 1st, 2020, and September 30th, 2025—spanning nearly five years.

The online shopping scam reports contained descriptions of alleged fraudulent activities undertaken by online retailers, from the perspective of individual consumers who voluntarily submitted their reports. The researchers were able to characterize the contents of each report by drawing out various combinations of nine “scam attributes”: issues to which consumers attributed the feeling that they’ve been scammed or otherwise defrauded.

Incogni’s researchers managed to extract or deduce the product categories at the center of many (approximately 79,000) of the scam reports under investigation. Combined with the aforementioned scam-attribute analysis, this is what allowed them to generate key results from their dataset. Here are some of the highlights:

• Online shopping scam report volumes have risen sharply in recent years, nearly doubling in 2023 and already averaging a record 2,550 reports per month in 2025.
• Unresponsive customer support was the most frequently reported issue, appearing in 46% of all online shopping scam reports.
• The non-delivery of products was mentioned in 35% of scam reports across the entire dataset.
• The impersonation of legitimate brands or websites was reported in 17% of cases.
• Fake tracking information appeared in 10% of reports and increased by 16% during the holiday season, on average.
• The clothing and shoes, home and kitchen, and patio, lawn and garden product categories were the most likely to include mentions of fake tracking information, which appeared in over 15% of associated reports.
• Health and household and beauty and personal care products were more likely to be linked with unauthorized and/or recurring charges.
• Reports pertaining to items from the tools and home improvement and sports and outdoor product categories frequently mentioned unusually low prices.
• During the holiday season, delayed shipping was reported 11% more often and non-delivery 9% more often than during the rest of the year.

When it comes to the relationships between scam attributes and product categories, the researchers found results that may not have revealed themselves otherwise. For example, BBB online shopping scam reports pertaining to purchases of products from the clothing and shoes, home and kitchen, and patio, lawn and garden product categories frequently mentioned fake tracking details. Meanwhile, scam reports pertaining to purchases of items from the health and household and beauty and personal care product categories were more often correlated with mentions of unauthorized or recurring charges. Finally, reports detailing consumers’ (negative) experiences with the purchase of tools and home improvement supplies and sporting and outdoor goods often referred to the presence of unusually (even suspiciously) low prices.

Focusing on the holiday period (four consecutive holiday periods are covered by the dataset), Incogni’s researchers were able to track the rates at which each of the nine scam attributes are mentioned in BBB online shopping scam reports in the weeks leading up to Christmas and New Year, as well as the weeks immediately following them.

Comparing these results to the baseline of year-round statistics, we see that several attributes were reported more frequently over the holiday period:

• Fake traffic information reports increased by 16%
• Delayed shipping reports increased by 11%
• Purchase non-delivery reports increased by 9%
• Unresponsive customer service reports increased by 5%
• Legitimate website impersonation reports increased by 4%.

Noting that the scam reports rarely mentioned just one scam attribute, Incogni’s researchers interrogated the dataset to examine the frequency of occurrence of each of the possible scam-attribute pairs:

It’s at this point of the analysis that Incogni could indicate some key insights that consumers could apply directly to their online shopping endeavors.

For example, it may be a strong indicator of a potential scam when two or more of the following appear together during a single transaction:

• non-delivery,
• fake tracking,
• unresponsive support,
• and delayed shipping.

Or, more pragmatically: if a consumer notices that a retailer is impersonating a legitimate website or brand while leveraging aggressive pricing, then they can be forearmed in knowing that this is correlated with ultimate non-delivery.

Head of Incogni, Darius Belejevas, had this to say regarding the situation:

It’s just a fact of our times that the holidays begin (and increasingly end) with periods of intense retail activity. Retailers know and capitalize on this, as do all manner of scammers. The general advice would be: the more concrete and detailed information shoppers have, the better they’re able to proactively manage their own risk.

Continuing:

This research gives online shoppers fine-grained insight into what it looked like when things went wrong for other shoppers. They can see the patterns that only data can reveal, knowing exactly what to look out for when shopping for particular types of items.

Indeed, Incogni’s latest findings are useful not only for consumers, but also the regulators charged with keeping the market functioning reliably, predictably and fairly.

Incogni’s full analysis (including public dataset) can be found here.

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by Guest Contributor via Digital Information World

How to Let AI Think With You, Not Instead of You

By Craig B. Barkacs MBA, JD, Power and Influence

This post is Part 1 of a series.

In my previous post, I discussed the conundrum we face regarding artificial intelligence (AI) today: On one hand, we’re told to use it or get left behind; on the other, we’re warned about the "cognitive diminishment" that can result from that very use. I suggested the solution wasn’t an uncritical embrace, nor an outright rejection. Yes, we need to learn to use AI. But the dilemma of cognitive decay remains.

While claims that AI can boost creativity are common, there is little instruction on specific ways to use it that minimize the risk. I promised to provide those specific ways, and when it comes to promises, I have built my career and reputation (as a trial lawyer, a professor, and a consultant) on being reliable. So, let’s dive into those now without delay.

Starting With an Inconvenient Truth

Research suggests that the more consciously designed and structured your use of AI is, and the more it promotes active learning and a growth mindset, the more it can help without hurting. However, unless you’re a student enrolled in a course providing that structure, you are disadvantaged. You have to provide the structure yourself.

This presents a challenge because structure requires effort. And part of the appeal of AI tools, if we’re being honest, is that when used uncritically, they remove the need for effort. Or, as one student put it in a New York Magazine article about students cheating their way through college: “You just don’t really have to think that much.”

The inconvenient truth is this: You can keep your thinking skills and creativity sharp while using AI, but it will take effort. Not too much, but some. As nice as it would be to maximize benefits without any effort, it is simply impossible. In fact, this is an underlying truth of my entire Power & Influence blog: All of the advice contained here requires action. I provide the information; the decision whether to act on it is yours. Even if I could somehow force or trick you into making the effort, I wouldn't. That would undermine the very human agency we want to conserve in the age of AI.

The Habits of Cognitive Offloading

Something else research tells us is that the easier a new desired action is made—not free of effort, just reasonably easy—the more likely people are to turn it into a habit. Since you are going to use AI anyway, my tips involve continuing to use the tools you already use with just a few small adjustments.

Unfortunately, "cognitive offloading" has already become widespread and habitual enough that even small adjustments may feel like too much hassle. You may have seen the hilarious comedic sketch that went viral about people who have offloaded all thinking to ChatGPT. If you’re reading this article, though, you’re probably not there yet. Let’s keep it that way.

A Helpful Warm-up Exercise: The Meta-Audit (if You Do It Right)

Let’s start with a meta-level exercise that can be quite eye-opening. Open whichever large language model (LLM) tool you use most often. Scroll through your threads and pick one that represents your typical usage style. Importantly, choose a thread containing creative or academic work—not practical questions about whether you’re going to die because you ate yogurt one day past the expiration date.

Next, copy and paste this prompt into that thread:

“Based on my usage style in this thread, can you offer honest, balanced feedback about my level of risk for cognitive diminishment through AI use? Treat this as a reflective exercise, not a diagnosis. Be very honest: no flattery or empty reassurance, please. At the same time, frame the feedback constructively. In your assessment, consider: (1) how much I’m offloading any creative or cognitive work I could be doing on my own, and (2) if I’m at risk of being in a bubble or echo chamber. Give me a rough 'score' in the range of 1–10 (10 being highest risk) and explain your reasoning.”

Depending on the answer, ask follow-up questions for clarity. Keep in mind that this exercise works best if you invite the AI to gently challenge you rather than reassure you. Don’t “game” the prompt to get the answer you want. Doing that only sabotages your cognitive integrity (i.e., the very thing we are trying to protect). LLMs are optimized to be "socially cooperative." If you nudge them to reassure you, they likely will.

Take the feedback with a grain of salt. LLMs cannot yet reliably “remember” your interactions across all threads. Even so, the feedback can be eye-opening. The goal is to have a risk pointed out that you hadn't considered. Prompting in a way that gets helpful feedback versus empty reassurance is, in itself, a skill and an art.

Using the “One Thought Rule”

Once you have a sense of your usage style, here is a simple habit to immediately reduce the scale of cognitive offloading. I call it the “One Thought Rule.”

When you ask a research-oriented question, instead of just asking the question by itself, add a thought of your own that begins answering it. It doesn’t matter how simple, incomplete, or even flat-out wrong your thought might be. What matters is that you’re doing some thinking versus no thinking.

This conserves the natural conjecturing that happens with traditional, slower-paced research, as opposed to the “get everything answered instantly” impulse that drives AI prompting.

Example of the One Thought Rule:

• Question:Why does cognitive diminishment happen when you overly rely on AI?
• Your One Thought:Is it because the brain is like a muscle, and muscles atrophy if you don’t use them?

The first sentence is the question; the second is your contribution. As much as possible, do this with follow-up questions as well. If your prompt isn’t a question but a counterpoint made in good faith to something the AI said, that works, too—it is a form of critical thinking. The idea is to simply have you do as much of your own thinking as possible.

Mastery: Conserving Human Agency

Look, I get it. Sometimes you just want to ask your questions. For purely practical questions (like the expired yogurt), offloading is fine. But for research that defines your professional or academic life, consider the effort a reasonable price to pay for conserving your skills.

True power and influence in the 21st century will not belong to those who can prompt an AI to think for them; it will belong to those who use AI to think better. By inserting yourself into the dialogue, you ensure that you remain the pilot, not just a passenger on an automated flight.

Be one of the people who don’t lose their edge.

The Challenge: This week, run the meta-audit on your three most recent work-related threads. Be prepared for a "score" that might sting. Then, commit to the One Thought Rule for 48 hours. Notice how much more engaged you feel when you stop asking for answers and start testing your own hypotheses.

Protect your mind when using artificial intelligence with these practices.

Originally published by PsychologyToday on December 30, 2025. Republished with permission.

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Three climate New Year’s resolutions that will fail – and four that can actually stick

Anastasia Denisova, University of Westminster

Four in five adults in the UK say they have changed their lifestyle to help tackle environmental change. The New Year is a good time to implement changes to behaviour, but our willpower is finite.

The secret isn’t to be more virtuous, but to be strategic.

If you want 2026 to be the year you make a difference without burning out, here is what the evidence suggests you should prioritise – and what you should ignore.

Here are some resolutions that are likely to work.

1. Buy clothes from a reselling platform once a month

Immediate gratification is one of the most reliable predictors of long-term success. A vow to “buy nothing” is miserable and hard to keep. A vow to “buy second hand” gives you a treasure hunt.

A garment spends 2.2 years on average in a UK wardrobe, while fashion remains one of the biggest polluters – that’s why buying lots of outfits from the high street is problematic. Reselling platforms such as Vinted, Depop and eBay, or charity shops, can provide a guilt-free solution to the endless consumption encouraged by the fashion media and influencers.

2. Make plans with friends

Making changes is hard – and it’s even harder doing it alone. We are social animals, susceptible to “social proof” – naturally adopting the behaviour of people we admire or respect.

Leverage this by finding your herd. Identify a couple of friends, family members or colleagues who are interested in gardening, walks in nature, mending clothes, volunteering at a local farm or attending or teaching a zero-waste cooking workshop. Having a plan acts as scaffolding for a new habit, but making that plan with friends turns an eco-practice into a social event you actually look forward to.

Image: Land O'Lakes, Inc. / Unsplash

3. Indulge in grains, vegetables and dips twice a week

Numerous studies warn about the harmful effects of a meat-heavy diet. But for “meat-attached” eaters, going cold turkey (or cold tofu) rarely works.

Instead, use positive framing. Not “eat less of this”, but “eat more of this”. Change “meat-free Monday” to “hummus-heavy Mondays”. Research shows that the most unshakeable burger enthusiasts can still be convinced to reduce their meat intake through the argument of food purity (avoiding hormones and factory farming) and the health benefits (weight control, cholesterol). Frame the resolution as indulging in grains, vegetables and dips, rather than restricting meat.

4. The ‘boring’ one: write to your MP

Less entertaining than other resolutions, this suggestion is nonetheless likely to have longer and wider repercussions. Leading climate thinkers such as academics Hannah Ritchie and Kimberly Nicholas argue that influencing policy is a stronger action than adjusting your individual behaviour.

A letter written to your local MP can echo in the higher echelons of power. Imagine your representative telling the Prime Minister: “my constituents are demanding greener energy and transport”. It takes 15 minutes. Charities such as Friends of the Earth even provide templates. It’s a low-effort, high-impact resolution.

On the other hand, there are some resolutions that are more likely to fail.

1. The ‘I will never fly again’ trap

Giving up flying is an effective way to shrink your carbon footprint, but it’s a tough New Year resolution to stick to. For many with family abroad or tight budgets, the price disparity between cheap (often heavily subsidised) flights and expensive trains makes this difficult to sustain, adding financial complications to an already tricky ethical dilemma.

A more realistic approach would be to commit to “no domestic flights” or “trains where possible”. Save the hardline stance for when the mince pies have settled.

2. Trying to go ‘all green’ at once

Beware the “sustainable consumption paradox”. This is the paralysis that comes from being overwhelmed with information when trying to make greener choices: worrying that your recycled plastic takes too much energy to produce, or if your fair trade coffee caused deforestation.

Trying to fix every aspect of your life leads to information overload and failure. Pick two or three battles, no more.

3. Converting the non-believers

Resolving to convert your friends and family is a recipe for conflict, not change. Shame triggers defensiveness, not action.

Instead, lead by example. Talk about your new habits casually – mention the bargain you found on Vinted or your new recipe for beef-free bolognese – without preaching. You are more likely to plant a seed with enthusiasm than with a smug lecture.

Eco-awareness is very high in the UK, so if you’re reading this, know that you’re in the majority. The best strategy to turn concern into action is to quiet the overthinking and begin 2026 with optimism and a realistic, achievable commitment.

Anastasia Denisova, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, University of Westminster

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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by External Contributor via Digital Information World