Researchers at the Communication and Education Cabinet, Jose Manuel Perez Tornero and Cristina Pulido, published the article “The media bubble of children and adolescents,” about the media experience of children in Catalonia.
The paper proposes the model of the bubble media to explain the use of media in people under 17 years: about every child seems to have emerged a kind of personal bubble that filters their experience of the environment and their relationships with others through a special configuration of ICT.
Also discussed in the document the kind of media that are more use or consume by this public, the way these people use social networks and the Internet, the content they access and the risks associated with media practices.
Identifies the major changes that have taken place in the consumption of television, internet use and mobile in recent years. Children and adolescents can easily learn the technical dimensions of such use, but it is also important for them to develop critical and creative dimensions of their experiences with the media.
The text concludes that children need to develop skills and capabilities critical to function autonomously, and that this is possible through Media Literacy. Guardianship of adults in the use and consumption of media is also highlighted as an important measure for independent development of children.
Outstanding among the proposals the need to create a plan for Media Education in the entire educational system, public campaigns and observatories. The production and regulation of the media must also be a scope of work, according to the report, where the participation of these audiences and families would report favorable results.
This article is part of the analysis on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Catalonia, collected in the collection Docs Infància Catalonia. This is an initiative of the UNICEF Catalonia in order to make a diagnosis of the situation of children and adolescents in the region and collect suggestions from experts to address the challenges and problems identified in this regard.
