Teens facing fake news. Media literacy needs in the classroom

Teenagers heavily rely on social media for information exchange, however, they are susceptible to the negative effects of uncontrolled information use through digital devices. The development of critical thinking skills is essential for teenagers, as consumers and producers of content. The biggest challenge lies in their ability to discern useful information from irrelevant one. While the internet offers access to a vast amount of information, it is important to consider criteria such as factuality, relevance, and usefulness. This article deals with the results of a study framed in the characterization of the media competence with which teenagers interact with the media and information on Internet, as well as their behavior in the face of false contents that are massively disseminated. For this purpose, a questionnaire composed of 33 questions was applied to a sample of 727 teenagers between 15 and 18 years of age, and belonging to the high school level in three provinces of Ecuador: Carchi, Imbabura and Loja.Among the results, it is evident that teenagers have a high instrumental mastery of ICTs, which they choose mainly for the security it provides them; however, there are gaps regarding the critical use of information for both consumption and content creation. In this regard, less than 40% feel interested in verifying information prior to its dissemination; and, although they recognize that information from social networks is not very credible, they point to this as the main space for information, above traditional media such as television. The results of the study are key to amplify the importance of media literacy in the classroom, while serving as a basis for future study designs on the subject.