Proceedings of the International scientific and practical conference ―British Ukrainian Academic Congress‖ (March 20-22, 2026) / Publisher website: www.naukainfo.com. - Liverpool, United Kingdom, 2026. - 183 p.

75 identify "fake news." While cognitive filtering is essential, this fact-checking paradigm is fundamentally flawed when applied to the broader spectrum of digital youth engagement. Modern digital platforms operate on behavioral and neurobiological levels, not just cognitive ones. Media literacy assumes a rational actor making conscious choices, yet the architecture of the virtual metaverse is designed to bypass rationality. In countries with transitional democracies such as Ukraine, the lack of coordinated horizontal networks between educational institutions, civil society, and IT platforms leaves young people exposed to the unfiltered entropy of virtual space. Therefore, relying solely on educational interventions to combat structural algorithmic manipulations is not enough. Furthermore, traditional media literacy does not take into account the obvious cognitive exhaustion caused by the digital environment. Fact-checking and critical analysis require high levels of executive function and sustained attention. However, the omnipresence of digital devices actively destroys this cognitive capacity. Empirical research by Stothart, Mitchum, and Yehnert (2015) demonstrates the profound "attentional cost" of simply receiving a cell phone notification. Their study reveals that the mere presence of an unread notification – even without the user actively engaging with the device – significantly disrupts task performance and induces "mind-wandering." The brain's resources are involuntarily hijacked by the anticipation of a digital stimulus. In a socio-virtual environment where youth are subjected to hundreds of notifications, infinite scrolls, and algorithmic nudges daily, their baseline cognitive capacity is chronically compromised. Expecting a teenager experiencing severe attention depletion to rationally apply media literacy frameworks to an addictive algorithm is fundamentally unrealistic. 4. A Six-Level Hierarchical Model of Digital Risks. To establish a foundation for effective intervention, it is necessary to map the escalation of digital threats. We propose a Six-Level Hierarchical Model that categorizes risks based on frequency of exposure, intentionality of the aggressor, scale of coordination, and the proximity of offline consequences.