ABSTRACT
This chapter argues the need for a new definition of literacy that fits the current practices of consuming and producing information among teenagers. While their informational diets come almost exclusively from social media – where real and fake news are disseminated with much greater speed and credibility – most adolescents admit to having serious trouble differentiating the relevance of content and identifying the reliability of a source. In this scenario, the absence of media education that enables a critical attitude and provides reflective skills may have a negative impact on their decisions. At a higher level, it may put the foundations of democracy at risk. Therefore, based on recent research, this chapter defends the urgency of promoting informational literacy as a priority for public policies.
