HOW UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN BANGLADESH PERCEIVE NATIONAL SECURITY THREATS FROM SOCIAL MEDIA MISINFORMATION: A QUANTITATIVE STUDY

Abstract

Due to the fast development of social media, misinformation has become a major issue for national security. This is of concern, especially in Bangladesh, which has high intensity internet penetration and high youth population. Adhering to the theory of securitization, this is a quantitative research inquiry of the perception among university students regarding national security threat posed by social media misinformation. The data were collected through a descriptive survey of 300 students. The study participants were recruited in the public universities as well as in the private universities in five major cities of the country. Stratified sampling methodology was employed to ensure that the sample was representative of the larger student population. The findings are striking: 92% of the students reported having a Facebook account and spending an average of more than three hours per day on social media, while 72% of them refer to it as their main news source. Misinformation of political nature was the most common (41%) and religious false content comes next (35%). It was found that there was a shortage on verification: 25% of them always search information; 50% of them do only simple Google searches. However, 79% respondents believe that misinformation is a real national security threat, usually suggesting a foreign involvement. The results indicate a lack of a relationship between high threat perception and low personal accountability which present the problem as an existential threat with securitization.