Competencia mediática de las madres y padres. Análisis de la influencia, uso e impacto de las redes sociales en los menores españoles

Abstract

This doctoral thesis studied the mothers and fathers of Spanish minors by means of an evaluation model through questions on the dimensions of media competence, confronting these results with the analysis of the influence, use and impact of social networks on their children. This research aimed to create an explanatory knowledge of the social reality experienced by parents and their children after the arrival of the phenomenon of social networks, even though it was assumed that it was not possible to find absolute results, since any theory with these data could offer a result that was not entirely explanatory in a comprehensive way. It has been kept in mind that minors today are growing up surrounded by electronic devices connected to the Internet, in most cases with little control by mothers and fathers; and that technologies, the media and advertising are becoming part of the lives of minors from their childhood, since they are part of today's society, not only for minors who have grown up in this new paradigm of digital society, but also for the rest of the people with whom they share the world. It is an issue of utmost importance for parents, however, in order to educate and accompany minors, we considered that the development of media competence was necessary. The objective of this research was to determine the level of media competence of mothers and fathers regarding the use, influence or impact of social networks on Spanish children. To achieve this, a quantitative methodology was used, through a socio-demographic study in order to analyze the level of media competence of parents using the questionnaire technique in relation to the dimensions of media competence to obtain a sufficient number of references to support the research and triangulate them with the data obtained from the questionnaire of children on the influence, use and impact of social networks. The results showed that the parents' level of competence was very positive in all the dimensions analyzed: languages, technology, interaction processes, production and dissemination processes, and ideology and values. At the competency level, the areas with the best results were: information comprehension and communication. With the data obtained and once analyzed, it was concluded that parents and minors presented a medium-advanced level of media competence, although the specific knowledge and skills on the different dimensions studied differed between the two groups. Furthermore, it became clear that it was necessary to carry out a training intervention with mothers and fathers so that they could provide good support to children in acquiring good media competence, and so that they could face the risks and advantages of social networks and the Internet.