- Digital, media, and data literacy is key to reducing gaps, combating disinformation, and participating in a society governed by platforms, data, and algorithms.
- Civil rights are being reinterpreted in a digital context (privacy, freedom of expression, non-discrimination by algorithms) and new ones are emerging (right to be forgotten, right to disconnect, net neutrality) with the support of European frameworks.
- AI requires a data culture: understanding how models are trained, their biases and limitations, and knowing the guarantees of the AI Act in order to demand transparency and accountability.
- For youth and adults, practical and contextualized programs (open data, verification, security) plus public policies and continuous support are the path to a prepared society.
We live in a time when the internet is no longer a single, uniform space, but an ecosystem fragmented by platforms, data and algorithms that shape how we access information, work, and participate. In this context, the so-called breakdown of the internet intersects with the urgent need for broad-spectrum digital literacy. Formarse to understand Technologies, contexts, and rights are not an extra; they are part of 21st-century citizenship.
The issue goes far beyond knowing how to use a device. It matters how data is generated and used , what the implications of artificial intelligence systems are, what rights protect us and which ones are emerging, and how to distinguish reliable information from viral hoaxes. Media and data are the thread that weaves together these challenges: reducing gaps, fostering critical thinking, and opening the door to fairer social participation.
Youth, digital citizenship and possible futures
Those who will bear the brunt of today's technological decisions will be young people who have grown up in and with the internet: millennials and centennials, mostly between 15 and 29 years old. The literature even speaks of a "pandemic generation." Native digital experience does not automatically equate to critical judgment, and therein lies the key to imagining the digital citizenship of the future.
A study by Macgilchrist, Allert, and Bruch (2019) proposes three plausible scenarios: a youth technically competent for the labor market but uncritically uncritical of social and political degradation; a scenario of entrepreneurial individualism, capable of optimizing legal and algorithmic rules for personal gain; and a path of organization and collective action oriented toward more sustainable and democratic ways of life. Current educational and political decisions will determine the final course, especially regarding the type of literacy we promote.
The data from the 2020 Youth and Technological Expectations Barometer provides valuable insights. The digital divide is revealed to be more social and economic than technical: it's not just about access, but about the conditions of access and use. It was also found that uses and practices are more diverse among upper-middle-class youth. More than a third admit they don't know which skills they should strengthen, and a significant percentage feel they lack training opportunities.
Another important finding is that literacy occurs primarily through self-directed and peer learning . Formal channels—courses, consultations with teachers, or training at the educational institution—are less popular. Broadening educational horizons and innovating methodologies connects with the actual learning practices of young people.
This diagnosis leads to a key idea: to orient literacy towards a social digital education (SDE) that focuses on critical awareness, ethics, and empowerment, not just instrumental skills; to enable young people to deliberate and participate in the decision-making processes that will shape the society of the future. In this sense, experiences and methodologies of inclusive education in digital environments are particularly useful.
Digital divide: more than just cabling
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated inequalities and revealed that the digital divide has structural roots. Income, location, education level, and learning opportunities are all important factors, in addition to access to devices and the internet. It is a multidimensional phenomenon encompassing access, skills, motivation, and usage. The digital divide manifests itself in different ways depending on the group and context.
In adult education, digital literacy has become essential for accessing public services, healthcare resources, and community programs, which are now mostly online. Literacy for older adults stands out as a strategy to reduce exclusion and facilitate access to rights. Lack of skills is a barrier to entry that prevents individuals from exercising basic rights and taking advantage of training and employment opportunities.
There are significant efforts underway in Europe: platforms like EUacademy and EPALE offer free resources and courses to strengthen digital skills; the Media Literacy in Palestine project, led by the Finnish Lifelong Learning Foundation since 2015, develops materials and promotes the right to information by training professionals, NGOs, and active citizens. Educational research underscores that education is a lever for escaping poverty, with effective strategies for disadvantaged students (Gorski, Power, and Maclean). Within this framework, new educational technologies facilitate training and support alternatives.
From instrumental literacy to digital social education
Limiting digital literacy to simply using tools leaves out the essentials: understanding messages, channels, contexts, rights, and risks. From a social education perspective, a framework for digital literacy is proposed that integrates democratic values, participation, and social justice. It aims to cultivate citizens who question, co-create, and demand accountability, not just train a technological workforce.
Robust data literacy programs should include at least four components: basic data concepts (what data is, how it is collected and used), critical analysis (quality, provenance, biases), rights and regulations (data protection, European AI regulations and privacy), and practical applications (creating and reusing open data with real-world projects). Open data and real-world case studies strengthen active and lasting learning.
The Open Government Partnership promotes precisely that kind of citizenry that can make informed decisions and influence public opinion. Along these lines, data infrastructure allows for meaningful participation in political and social processes, not just observing them from the sidelines.
Expanding digital rights
Digitalization is reinterpreting traditional civil rights and giving rise to new ones. Freedom of expression and privacy extend to the internet; the right to equality incorporates non-discrimination based on algorithms; and the right to education encompasses digital learning. The LOPDGDD ( Organic Law on the Protection of Personal Data and Guarantee of Digital Rights) establishes guarantees for data protection and digital rights, adapting the constitutional framework to the online environment.
Specific rights are emerging in the digital world: the right to be forgotten—reinforced in the EU by the GDPR (Art. 17)—which, with some nuances, has been adopted by countries such as Russia, Turkey, and Serbia; the right to digital disconnection—in force in several European countries such as Spain (Art. 88 of Organic Law 3/2018), France, Germany, Italy, and Belgium, and outside Europe in Chile—; and net neutrality, protected in the EU through Regulation 2015/2120. Internet access, recognized by the UN as a human right, underscores its character as a basic service.
In Spain, transparency and non-discrimination obligations are established for Internet providers. Online privacy protection is now a distinct legal field that will need to continue adapting to technological innovations, emerging uses, and unforeseen risks.
Data and artificial intelligence: why data knowledge matters
Artificial intelligence thrives on data—its quality, diversity, and availability across various domains. Better datasets produce more accurate models; greater coverage enables more use cases. A data culture is essential for auditing, questioning, and improving AI systems that impact opportunities, access to services, or automated decision-making.
The EU AI Regulation (AI Act) establishes a risk-based approach, imposing stricter obligations on high-risk systems. It requires high-quality training data, detailed documentation, audits, and human oversight, and strengthens rights such as challenging decisions and the right to explainability. It complements AI literacy because understanding how AI works and its limitations empowers people to demand compliance and its proper use.
In an environment of big data and ubiquitous algorithms, the mechanisms for participation are changing. There are opportunities—more efficient services, open knowledge—and risks—bias, opacity, exclusion. Data literacy is a critical filter that allows us to take advantage of the former and neutralize the latter.
Media literacy against disinformation
Information overload manifests itself in campaigns of confusion, information overload, and viral hoaxes. In 2016, a fake news website (AWD News) published an alleged threat from the Israeli Defense Minister toward Pakistan; the hoax, poorly written and citing the wrong headline, circulated so widely that it provoked an official reaction from Pakistan before being redirected. Malicious senders and thousands of recipients lacking critical thinking skills were enough to escalate a diplomatic risk.
That same year, The Onion's satirical "confirmation" of a relationship between Taylor Swift and Senator Joseph McCarthy, who died decades before the artist was born, went viral. Contrasting sources and understanding the channel would have prevented the confusion: The Onion is humor, and it makes that clear. Media literacy teaches precisely how to distinguish between information, satire, and manipulation.
Experts like Mark Warschauer have been advocating for years for digital literacy that goes beyond simply using tools, fostering digital mindsets: understanding messages, channels, and contexts. An empowered citizenry is less easily manipulated and harder to polarize, and that is a prerequisite for any healthy democracy.
From an applied perspective, Prosegur Research understands Media and Information Literacy (MIL) as citizen empowerment through information and technology. Voices like José María Blanco emphasize that we are educating for a world that no longer exists: disinformation as a hybrid weapon and highly addictive platforms demand new educational strategies, with a primary focus on young people to transform mindsets.
This training must include values—freedom, tolerance, respect for diversity—and responsibility in the creation and dissemination of content. Furthermore, it must be adapted to real-world habits: Prabhakar Raghavan (Google) points out that 4 out of 10 young people choose TikTok or Instagram to search for restaurants. Since a search engine is a social network, it requires preparing citizens for this environment, promoting critical thinking and creative reasoning.
Among the benefits of a well-designed media literacy program are: a reduction in the digital divide, improved employability through basic skills, lower incidence of cyberbullying, problematic sexting, harmful substance use and addictions, and greater resilience against disinformation. Applied media literacy helps evaluate sources and counter hostile campaigns, aligning with the EU's Action Plan against Disinformation (2018).
Poverty and digital literacy in adults
Digitalization has transformed what was once a luxury into a necessity. For those living in poverty, the digital divide is not just a gap; it's a wall that has grown ever larger. This translates into less access to services , fewer educational and employment opportunities, and greater vulnerability to exclusion and misinformation.
Adult digital literacy encompasses more than just learning to use an app: it involves navigating the internet, understanding content, protecting personal data, evaluating information, and solving everyday problems with digital tools. Without this foundation, opportunities for lifelong learning , benefits, and employment are lost.
European initiatives are successfully integrating literacy into adult education: EUacademy and EPALE update resources and courses to meet real needs; on-site projects like Media Literacy in Palestine build local capacity and teaching materials. The evidence points to education breaking cycles of poverty .
Crucial challenges remain: ensuring access to computers and reliable connectivity, designing programs tailored to the languages, educational levels, and prior experiences of each community, and offering ongoing support because these skills deteriorate if not used. It's not a vaccine ; it requires practice and guidance.
Teenagers and social networks: social literacy
Social media, a space for mass socialization with content generated by users without mandatory professional training, accounts for a large portion of adolescents' screen time. Identity, well-being, and social interaction are at stake here. Understanding how these platforms function , their incentives, and their risks is central to this understanding.
General digital literacy is necessary, but social media literacy offers an added advantage: it integrates technical skills with ethics, motivation, and affective and social dimensions. Safe and responsible social media literacy helps people relate to others empathetically, recognizing biases, viral dynamics, and persuasive mechanisms.
Furthermore, it functions as an equity strategy: it reduces gaps stemming from inequalities in access and cultural capital. The adolescent world moves between the physical and the digital , which is why educational frameworks must address both realms.
What to teach and how: a practical framework for a prepared society
Integrating data and media literacy from an early age is part of the solution. Key building blocks include data fundamentals (what data is and how it is generated), critical analysis (quality, provenance, biases), rights and regulations (GDPR, LOPDGDD, AI Act, net neutrality), and projects using open data on public portals. Learning by doing , with real-world examples, consolidates skills and demonstrates immediate usefulness.
Currently, there are two complementary strategies: cross-curricular teacher training to integrate AMI and data literacy into any subject—from social sciences to technology—and the introduction of a specific subject that focuses on critical competencies. Combining both accelerates adoption and multiplies its reach, while also allowing for clear evaluation of results.
For young people and adults, it's beneficial to add fact-checking labs, AI-powered decision-making simulations, data bias auditing exercises, and practices on privacy and personal security. The goal is to develop critical thinking skills , not memorize rules, so that competence endures despite platform changes.
If we think of the internet as a constellation of platforms, data, and algorithms pulling in different directions, it becomes clear why talking about fragmentation makes sense. What prevents this fragmentation from leading to inequality, misinformation, and the loss of rights is comprehensive literacy that connects technology with values, rights with practices, and knowledge with participation. Useful legal frameworks and successful experiences already exist; now it's time to scale up, adapt, and sustain them over time so that no one is left behind.
References and notes of interest
Research and projects cited: Macgilchrist, Allert and Bruch (2019) on the future of education and technology; the 2020 Youth and Technological Expectations Barometer; initiatives such as EUacademy, EPALE and Media Literacy in Palestine; European regulatory frameworks such as GDPR, Regulation 2015/2120 (net neutrality) and the AI Act; and AMI work and positions from academic and professional environments. Proposals for digital social education (ESDigital) and the European agenda against disinformation are also highlighted.
