As reported by Radio Prague, the study, led by hate speech online expert Jaroslav Valůch and sociologist Marie Klusáčková, revealed that for many Czech teenagers, as probably for most teenagers worldwide, social issues are not the 'hot topic of the day'. At school, the young generation communicates and discusses relationships, clothing, entertainment, plans. How did the researchers manage to penetrate the world of teenagers?
'For the most part, this study was conducted by the high school students themselves, who formulated the questions for the questionnaire as well as the answer options. Therefore, the topics of this study were determined by the students themselves,' explains project coordinator Kristýna Svata.
If the questions were formulated by the teenagers themselves, how did the migration crisis appear among their everyday topics? Initially, the survey, which was to be compiled by high school students, focused on measuring the level of intolerance online among schoolchildren. And many of the topics formulated by the teenagers automatically centered around refugees and the perception of representatives of other nationalities in Czech society.
The survey subsequently revealed that the attitude towards refugees and the migration crisis among schoolchildren is mostly negative. At the same time, 40% of respondents noted that they would let refugees 'wait out' the crisis in the Czech Republic. On the other hand, 38% of schoolchildren expressed fear that the migration crisis would escalate into war.
However, in matters of direct attitude towards national minorities, teenagers were tolerant. More than half of the teenagers noted that religion, skin color, and nationality would not be an obstacle to friendship for them, and they would perceive such communication as enriching, while 'hate' (the opposite of 'like') would rather be earned by someone who dresses differently.
'For example, in the case of the question, 'Would schoolchildren be friends with a Muslim?', the majority of them – about 56% – answered 'definitely yes'. This was followed by a large percentage of schoolchildren who would be friends with a Muslim, but on the condition of their integration into Czech society. That totaled about 70% positive responses. As for the question about friendship with people of a different sexual orientation, faith, and skin color, it was an open question. To which, I would say, schoolchildren responded quite positively – about 55% wrote 'yes, this communication would enrich me'. At the same time, some answered 'yes, this communication would enrich me, but I have problems with people of a different sexual orientation', for example. That is, 'but' often appeared there, while the answers were quite open.'
The study also aimed to identify where schoolchildren get their information. As the most reliable source, in most questions, schoolchildren indicated family, then school. Teenagers actively use social networks but do not believe in the reliability of information, and they are not at all interested in data provided by non-governmental organizations or independent information portals. The situation is different with information concerning migrants or representatives of other nationalities in general.
'In the case of the question about national minorities, the media come first. More precisely, schoolchildren get information about the life of national minorities from the 'general atmosphere around them', then from the media, and then from family and school,' explains Kristýna Svata.
One of the study's questions also tested schoolchildren on their ability to distinguish the reliability of information. Students were presented with a fake statement by Czech cultural figure Jan Werich. Most of them were able to double-check the information and determine that it was a 'fake'.
'Overall, the study showed that teenagers at school mostly communicate about trivial topics – school, relationships, weekend plans, food, entertainment. Social issues often do not arise. However, the group of students for whom these topics are important, as well as schoolchildren who noted that they check information from multiple sources, better recognized the 'fake' in the study.'