Is the Information You Receive "Biased"? How to Approach Information Bias Through Data

For example, the segment "Recognizes information bias × Engages in proactive information-seeking actions" accounts for 47.0% among those aged 39 and under, representing nearly half of this group. However, this segment drops to only 31.2% among those aged 50 and over.

Conversely, the "No awareness of information bias × No proactive information-seeking actions" group comprises only 25.8% (roughly one-quarter) of those aged 30 and under, while it accounts for 54.8% (over half) of those aged 50 and above.

This situation clearly indicates that there are distinct age-related differences regarding the perception of information bias and the actions taken to actively seek information.

Do the "desires" modern consumers hold influence their awareness of information bias and their actions?

Next, let's examine differences among people who most strongly possess each desire, based on DDD's defined "11 Desires"* within the same four quadrants.

*For details on the "11 Desires," please see here.
・ "We'll give new desires names." (Web Dentsu-ho)
・ DENTSU DESIRE DESIGN Announces 2024 Edition of "11 Desires" Influencing Human Consumption Behavior

Looking at the radar chart, the trends in each quadrant are similar across nearly all desire factors. Within this, the "Recognizes information bias × Engages in proactive information seeking" segment (light blue) shows stronger desires across all categories compared to other quadrants. Conversely, the "Does not recognize information bias × Does not engage in proactive information seeking" segment (light orange) appears weaker across all items.

This suggests that self-awareness of information bias and the presence of proactive information-seeking behavior correlate with an individual's "overall desire intensity."

Furthermore, even among charts showing broadly similar patterns, the three desires relatively more likely to lead to consumption—"Recognition & Superiority," "Excitement & Hedonism," and "Collection & Immersion"—show relatively significant numerical differences across the quadrants. Considering this, it can be inferred that each quadrant not only has differences in overall desire strength but also exhibits some degree of bias or variation in values and consumption behavior.

Which Type Feels Happiest? The Relationship Between How People Engage with Information and "Values"

Next, we examine the values associated with each quadrant. The graph below shows the results of asking whether respondents "think they are happy."

The groups that reported "taking action to learn opinions, thoughts, and information from people with different perspectives" – specifically the "Awareness of information bias × Active information-seeking behavior" group and the "No awareness of information bias × Active information-seeking behavior" group – showed a higher percentage of people who consider themselves "happy" compared to the two groups that did not take such action.

In a society overflowing with information, it may be fair to say that one's approach to information is not unrelated to their sense of happiness.

Let's examine other value items as well.

Let's examine some notable points in detail.

The proportion of people who answered "I trust information from major media outlets like TV stations and newspapers more than information on the internet" was 56.7% on average overall. However, the "No awareness of information bias × No active information-seeking behavior" group showed a higher level of trust in major media at 60.3% compared to other groups. This is likely significantly influenced by the age composition shown in Figure 4.

Regarding the item "When I watch recommended video content on video-sharing services like YouTube, I feel like my interests are broadening," the "No Perception of Information Bias × Active Information Seeking" group scored 63.3%, higher than other groups.

Recommendations typically function by deepening exploration of topics close to a user's interests, based on their search history or viewing patterns. However, individuals in this group, who perceive their information intake as unbiased, likely view recommendations not as "deepening their interests" but as an opportunity for "broadening their interests."

When combining the items "I want opportunities to learn about someone's hardships or unhappiness hidden in daily life" and "I think it's enough if I'm happy myself," the "Recognizes information bias × Engages in proactive information acquisition" group showed the highest results for both. The fact that many people express a desire to "learn about someone else's struggles or unhappiness" while also answering that "as long as I'm happy, that's all that matters" suggests that seeing "someone else's struggles or unhappiness" might also serve as a way to relatively confirm their own happiness.

We found that information bias is not merely about a decrease in "what everyone knows" in society, but is also linked to differences in happiness and various values. Both as individuals and as a society, we need to consider what constitutes "the future we should strive for in terms of information space and information intake" while engaging with the information surrounding us.

[Survey Overview]
10th "Heart-Moving Consumption Survey"
・Target Area: Nationwide, Japan
・Subject Criteria: Men and women aged 15–74
・Sample Size: Total 3,000 samples (allocated according to population ratios across 7 age groups: 15-19, 20s-60s, 70-74, and 2 gender categories)
・Survey Method: Internet survey
・Survey Period: Tuesday, May 13, 2025 – Friday, May 16, 2025
・Survey Sponsor: Dentsu Inc. DENTSU DESIRE DESIGN
・Survey Agency: Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc.