Page 117 - AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report

In Spain 92% of the population use some sort
of mobile phone and 81% have a smartphone with an Internet connection, according to the report Digital in 2017.31 The country thus tops the ranking in terms of electronic devices. A logical consequence of this high figure is a considerable increase in the number of Spaniards who use the Internet.
However, these facts do not seem to go hand-in- hand with an increased level of digital compe- tence, as Spanish citizens continue to be below the EU average in terms of development of digital skills. This can be seen in the results of the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) published by the European Commission in 2017.32 Spain ranks 14th among the 28 EU states overall.
Figure 2. The Digital Economy and Society
Index (DESI) 2017 | European Commission.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/desi
The report shows that Spain still has a long way to go in terms of digital literacy, as only 53% of Spaniards possess basic digital skills compared to the European average of 56%. And it seems that it is not only not progressing in this direction: the table on Human capital/Digital skills shows that Spain ranked 14th in 2016 and slid to 16th place in the 2017 report.
In pursuit of fake news in the social media
One of the problems that highlights the above- mentioned shortcomings and is overstepping personal boundaries to become a genuine social concern is the circulation of fake news, which
is created with a malicious intent and spread by Internet users who do not bother to verify it.
This situation affects both teenagers and adults and generates a high level of infoxication and points to the need to boost people’s critical thinking skills so that they make sensible use of the information they receive and spread.
In this connection organisations such as IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) are warning of the dangers of this situation and recommend that media liter- acy be addressed more broadly by educational and cultural institutions. In accordance with this demand, the federation issued a statement that one of the main missions of libraries and other educational institutions is to foster critical thinking in all citizens as a key aspect of media and news literacy.
As a contribution to this campaign to raise awareness and programmes to train people to be selective with the news that circulates through the various digital channels, the IFLA has put
Figure 3. How to Spot Fake News | IFLA. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/File: How_To_Spot_Fake_News.jpg
AC/E DIGITAL CULTURE ANNUAL REPORT 2018
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Readers in the digital age