Who Knows Best? Children’s Trust in Teachers vs. the Internet as Sources of Information / ¿Quién sabe más? La confianza de niños y niñas en sus docentes o en Internet como fuente de información

Over the past two decades, research on how children acquire knowledge through testimony has expanded, yet little attention has been given to the Internet as an information source, despite its widespread use at home and in schools. This study examines the preferences of five-to-nine-year-old children for the Internet vs. teachers across three tasks: answering curricular (school-related) and non-curricular questions, learning new words, and updating misconceptions. Results indicate that children are selective, favoring teachers for school-related content and the Internet for non-curricular content, but only for new, easily categorizable information. However, when faced with counterintuitive claims, they show no preference between sources. Additionally, children resist updating misconceptions even when presented with accurate information, particularly younger ones (5–7 years). Older children (8–9 years) show greater openness to revision, but this tendency is independent of the source. Children perceive the Internet as more deceptive and teachers as more error-prone. The study discusses the limitations of research on testimonial learning in childhood and its educational implications.