90% of teens have mobile and profile on Instagram

90% of teens have mobile and profile on Instagram

Less than a quarter of students have received training to develop critical thinking with which to assess content and how to protect their personal data

    Almost all young people have at least one 'smartphone' (90%) and many have three or more devices (75%). With them they create their own profiles on social networks, in which Instagram predominates, a space where they show how they want others to see them, and whose results measure by the amount of answers they achieve. These are some of the data from the study 'Las Tic and its influence on the socialization of adolescents', carried out by Google, Fad and BBVA, based on surveys of 1624 ESO students, between 14 and 16 years old, presented this morning at the Madrilenian headquarters of the search engine.

   The transit to master the technology begins between 11 and 12 years, in preadolescence, and settles a few years later. But during this period of learning less than a quarter has received training to develop critical thinking to value content (22%). "Students must develop civic and ethical values: freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination," says Isabel Celaá, Minister of Education and Vocational Training. "We must provide critical thinking tools and solid democratic values ​​to defend individuals from themselves and society from doctrines contrary to human rights. This is at the root of the eradication of issues such as gender violence. "

While young people lack training in critical thinking, 76.7% have received classes to create presentations and 63% have searched the internet. On the other hand, the generation of proprietary content remains at 27.2% and the way to protect your personal data barely reaches 30.5%. Adolescents also perceive a lack of support from parents and teachers in their Internet activities. «There are no digital natives, because nobody is born learned. It is a learning process, "says Eulalia Alemany, Fad's technical director, who points out that 72.4% of adolescents constantly watch their cell phones. "But they have their own limits, which diminish those visualizations when they are with people and in classes. Girls look more at mobile phones ».

The technologies are used for several functions, which can be divided into three main areas: the first, leisure and free time , in which they listen to music, above all. The second, the search for information, not only for their school work, but also to find patterns of behavior, skills and fashions. In this field, which borders on leisure, girls tend to see more videos of 'influencers' and the guys from 'game-players'. Finally, they use their screens to interact and get in touch with people they do not have access to in their daily lives.

See themselves
Among social networks, the one most used by young people is Instagram , but where content is consumed the most is on YouTube. «They create and share their own contents», says Alemany. «They use networks to feel integrated, with an ambivalent relationship: aware of the advantages and their limits». For example, adolescents consider that people in networks lie (83%), that intense affections can be established (58.8%), that relationship codes are different than face-to-face (57%) and that the image in networks has little to do with reality , the 'postureo' (48.7%). «They use them to present themselves, for others to see what I publish, that is the goal. I also want to see how they see me.