Infodemics – competencies for navigating the health and wellbeing media ocean

Despite my experience in digital and media literacy I can still feel a little lost at sea on social media. I've recently started using the dreaded TikTok to document work travel and must admit that I love the creativity of it. At Pontydysgu we've been advocating for democratisation of the internet for years, for learning by doing, for learning through content creation, participatory methodologies and digital skills building. But even with all of that, I was not prepared for the onslaught of video content. It is hard to navigate, almost impossible to filter the content, and once you enter an online environment, it is inescapable.

We are partners in an Erasmus+ project, Infodemics -Media iteracy in a Crisis. The team have been working to extend the existing framework for digital competencies to include competencies for navigating health and wellness media. Young people all over Europe are facing the challenges presented by the rise of misinformation and fake news. During the last year, in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the whole population witnessed the health and wellbeing information increase among media communication channels, many times becoming victims of dis- and misinformation.

To learn more about the Infodemics work you can access the comprehensive research report here https://infodemics.eu/comprehensive-research-report/ and view our social media friendly version below.