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VCE VCE VM Literacy (Year 11) · Unit 1 — Personal Literacy and Digital Texts · 11m read

Understanding Digital Texts — Websites, Social Media and Online Information

Most of what we read now is digital. Knowing how digital texts work — and when not to trust them — is an essential life skill.

Learning objective: Analyse how digital texts are designed and judge the reliability of online information.

By the end of this lesson you can:

  • I can describe features of digital texts.
  • I can check whether online information is reliable.
  • I can recognise sponsored content and scams.

Be a fact-checker. Before sharing a story, a journalist checks the source. You can use the same habits for anything you read online.

Digital texts and reliability

FEATURES — hyperlinks, menus, images, video, comments, hashtags, algorithms that choose what you see.

CHECKING RELIABILITY
• WHO made it? Check the author, organisation and "About" page.
• WHEN was it published or updated?
• WHY was it made — to inform, sell or persuade?
• Can you find the same information on other reliable sites?
• Is it an ad or sponsored post? Look for "Sponsored", "Ad" or "#ad".

SCAM WARNING SIGNS — urgency ("act now!"), requests for passwords or bank details, too-good-to-be-true offers, suspicious links or sender addresses.

Worked example (Medium)

You receive a text: "Your parcel is held. Pay $2.99 at this link within 24 hours." Is it trustworthy?

  1. Urgency. "Within 24 hours" pressures you.
  2. Request. Asks for payment through a link.
  3. Check. Go to the delivery company’s official website or app instead of clicking.

Answer: Likely a scam — urgency and a payment link are warning signs; check through official channels.

Common mistakes

  • Trusting something because it has many likes Popularity is not accuracy. Fix: Check the source and cross-check facts.
  • Clicking links in unexpected messages Common route for scams. Fix: Go directly to the official site.

Practice questions

  1. Which is a scam warning sign?

    1. A clear company address
    2. Pressure to act immediately
    3. A published date
    4. An author name

    (1 marks)

  2. Explain three checks you would do before trusting a health claim online.

    (3 marks)

Summary

  • Digital texts use links, media and algorithms.
  • Check who, when, why and cross-check.
  • Spot sponsored content.
  • Recognise scam warning signs.

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