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Admittedly I am not an avid Facebook user. But, on the few occasions I have dipped into some articles posted by a connection, I’ve often been left wondering: Why on Earth did they repost this?

Most of my friend connections on Facebook are what I would describe as intelligent and able to critically evaluate the accuracy of a “politically” based article. This is why I have found myself (on several occasions) dumbstruck by some of the content they have reposted.

Now it seems that one possible reason may be that they don’t read beyond the headline.

Scanning Headlines

In a recent study, researchers concluded that only in one case out of every four do people read past the headline when they share a link to political content on Facebook. The more representative the headline is of a person’s own political beliefs, the more likely they are to share the post. This is regardless of the political orientation you may hold.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, extreme views are also more likely to be shared. So, no wonder I have ended up questioning what my friends have posted (as the sad individual who reads it all).

Unintended Spread of (Mis)Information

Naturally, readers get their first impressions from headlines, but they should not be relied on as they are often created to attract attention rather than just being informative. In many cases, headlines are also sensationalised, leading to an inaccurate perception to be formed. Somewhat concerning is that misleading information that creates a bias toward a specific interpretation can be difficult to change even if people go on to read the full article.

In some instances, when people only read the headlines, they may unintentionally spread materials that are not actually aligned with their own beliefs. Instead, they may inadvertently spread information that contains false data and, by doing so, sow a seed of doubt in the person who reads it. This is also more likely to happen if the reader thinks the source communicator (a Facebook friend) is a reliable source.

As is known all too well, fake news is not an uncommon problem and, thus, simply reading a headline increases the likelihood that misinformation spreads. The American Psychological Association has publicised concern about the impact that misinformation can have on people’s health and societal well-being. They have even proposed eight recommendations for how misinformation can be combated.

One easy way to help is clearly to start reading content, in full, before reposting it on social media.