Spain is lagging behind in the development of media literacy initiatives, while misinformation is taking hold, threatening the ability to foster critical thinking in young people. This is a decisive moment to tackle this problem, as shown by the in-depth analysis of the Report on Media Literacy in Spain, prepared by the Luca de Tena Foundation.
From PROA Communication, collaborating consultant of the Luca de Tena Foundation, we join the call for attention that the results of this study represent. of the Journalism Observatory of the Foundation, directed by José Suárez de Lezo and whose members include Iñaki Gabilondo, Ignacio Camacho, Ramón Salaverría, Soledad Luca de Tena, Victoria Prego, María Eizaguirre, Nemesio Rodríguez, Pepe Cerezo and Lola Baños.
José Suárez de Lezo points out that the value of this study is to know the state of the question in order to promote work on this issue, since "media education is a formidable foundation on which to build critical thinking". And the report makes it clear that, if Spanish institutions do not take important measures, the damage that will be caused to new generations (and to people in general) could be irreversible.
It should be noted that, previously, a report by the University of Navarra and UTECO revealed that 72.1% of Spaniards claim to have believed a message or video that turned out to be false. Perhaps for this reason, Spain is the second country in Europe, only surpassed by Malta, where there is more concern about disinformation (82%). This situation coexists with a majority interest (58%) in receiving media education, a desire that is not being satisfied by the different institutions and administrations, as the Luca de Tena Foundation report highlights.
Compared to other European countries, Spain lags far behind in terms of the development of initiatives by public administrations. It is far behind, for example, countries such as Finland, where media literacy was incorporated into the curriculum in 2014, and students, from the age of six, learn to read information sources critically. Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, France and other countries have developed or are now developing, in the case of Portugal, powerful initiatives to tackle the problem.
Spain does not even comply with some of the most basic recommendations made by the European Union to member states, such as strongly supporting the establishment of media literacy networks, developing a lifelong learning approach to media literacy and supporting pilot projects. Nor has there been support for the development of media literacy materials, the improvement of existing training models and the design of new ones.
However, there are also success stories in Spain that try to compensate for this situation. A year ago, the press associations of Andalusia and the Professional Association of Journalists of Andalusia launched a promising initiative: the media literacy project UntangleThe project, which has reached almost fifty schools, has been a step forward in the collaboration between journalism professionals and the classroom.
Other noteworthy initiatives include The master keyThe project is part of the Jerez Journalists' Association, which has been providing media literacy training for the past eight years; The press in my backpackof the Press Association of Malaga; or Educacin Catalonia, demonstrate the willingness of professional and educational institutions to move forward.
75% of teachers in Spain perceive that their students are uninformed.
Media literacy is the process of learning the skills and abilities to analyse content more critically and to develop an active stance towards it. In short, being able, when faced with content, to learn to ask the right questions about what one is watching, reading or listening to. This is essential for interacting with media and social networks on a daily basis.
In this regard, the data provided by the Foundation's study are alarming. The survey of 100 teachers in all Spanish regions shows that 75% of teachers in Spain perceive that their students are uninformed. Moreover, according to the perception of primary and secondary school teachers, little (47%) or no (13%) progress has been made in media literacy in the last five years.
Despite the fact that the majority of teachers consider media literacy to be a clear solution to the problem of misinformation (271 PT3T consider it to be very effective, and 391 PT3T consider it to be quite effective), and despite the fact that they corroborate that pupils are very affected by misinformation (411 PT3T consider it to be very effective, and 341 PT3T consider it to be quite effective), teachers point out that the necessary investments are not being made.
40% of respondents believe that no investment has been made, 27 % believe that little investment has been made, while 26% believe that some investment has been made. 73% of respondents believe that the Internet contributes a lot to disinformation and 60% say that the media also contributes to disinformation.
Games and experts against disinformation
The Foundation's report sheds light on other successful tools for developing media literacy, such as the gamification. It includes a list of more than a dozen video games and board games in Spanish, such as Escape room y Harmony Square. It also offers a wide range of games in English, as well as books, guides and courses available on this subject.
In addition to the major responsibility of administrations and the education system, other actors have been shown to play an important role in media literacy. This is the case of journalists and the media industry. Thus, one of the keys to success may lie in the incorporation of journalism professionals in these tasks.
Social networks and platforms must also be an active element in media literacy, creating resources that help users to take a more critical view of what they receive through them. For its part, civil society, made up of foundations, civic organisations and companies, must be decisively involved. And finally, the family is the environment in which the first literacy actions are carried out, so it would be desirable for them to incorporate media literacy: to sit down with children and encourage this critical attitude towards information, media and platforms.
The report also includes proposals from specialists and ten interviews with leading figures in the field, such as Ramón Salaverría, member of the Committee of Experts on the Sustainability of the Newspaper Industry of the Council of Europe; Silvia Bacher, Media and Information Literacy Alliance Award winner; Marta Pellico, vice-president of iCMedia; Jacqueline Sánchez Carrero, founder of Taller Telekids; and professors Ignacio Aguaded, Javier Marzal Felici and Victoria Tur.
The presentation of the study took place on 23 February at the Zona Meta space in Madrid.
Photo of the presentation of the report (from left to right): Ramón Salaverría, professor at the University of Navarra; Mónica Tourón, secretary general of the APM; Rocío Albert, vice-minister of Educational Policy of the Community of Madrid; Macarena O'Neill, vice-minister of Educational Development and Vocational Training of the Regional Government of Andalusia; and José Luis Zimmermann, director of Public Affairs of Meta. (Luca de Tena Foundation)