The dimensions of media competence among Spanish university students

The results of this work form part of the coordinated RD&I project: "Citizens' media competence in relation to emerging digital media: innovative practice and educommunicational strategies in multiple contexts", developed between 2016 and 2019 at 25 Spanish universities. Specifically, the work pertains to the subproject: "Media competence of the citizen with emerging digital media in university settings". Data was collected from university students through questionnaires and focus groups. We sought to understand their self-perceptions regarding their level of media competence in relation to various dimensions, with the aim of extracting key points in order to improve training provided. According to the results obtained, this group largely considered themselves to be media competent; however, this is not coherent with the true perception revealed following inspection of students' self-ratings for each of the six main dimensions of media competence. Only technology appears to be sufficiently covered. A very limited vision of the importance of producing messages in comparison to their diffusion was evidenced; in addition, values were identified pertaining to the identification of ideology and interaction, among other aspects. A lack of assimilation of the aesthetic dimension and environmental implications is also highlighted. The need for media and digital literacy coincides with the vision held by university teachers, and for this reason the need for training is evident. As a result, it is observed that the common failings detected by more general population studies in relation to traditional media and digital education are being repeated in this sphere.