#Infodemic

A growing body of research suggests adults increasingly switch off from information that could help them make better choices, even when knowledge promises clear benefits. In a series of experiments spanning childhood to adulthood, researchers pinpoint how and when people begin to avoid information, a behavior they term the Ostrich Effect. The lead finding is striking: information avoidance starts much earlier than many expect, with a pivotal shift around age seven in a study of 320 American children aged five to ten. The implications reach far beyond psychology labs, touching health decisions, education, media literacy, and public trust in Thailand and across the region.