“Social Media Puppeteers”, “Social Media Fake News” and “Data Defenders”: games and Video Games to Promote Youngsters’ Information and Media Literacy

The contemporary youth cohort is confronted with many transformative dynamics and adversities, which have garnered significant attention in the media landscape. Cultivating dynamic literacies (Potter & McDougall, 2017) emerges as imperative for navigating through the deluge of information and discerning falsehoods, particularly when news is accessed through unfiltered social media channels (Herdzina & Lauricella, 2020, Krumsvik, 2023, Santos et al., 2023). Against this backdrop, the YOMEDIA project - Youngsters’ Media Literacy in Times of Crisis - has been funded by the European Media and Information Fund established by the European University Institute and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. The primary objective of this endeavor was to address these concerns through the conceptualization and implementation of a hybrid game focusing on misinformation/disinformation, and information literacy in times of crisis. Video games have acquired a fresh perspective following the experiences endured during the pandemic, notably concerning personal well-being and social connection (Cauberghe et alii, 2021, Kriz, 2020, Ohannes et alii, 2021). This pivotal shift prompted YO-MEDIA to advocate for enhancing young people's media literacy through ludic tools and languages. Games and video games foster a more critical and participatory engagement among youth, facilitated by narrative immersion, identification mechanisms with characters or stories, interactive elements coupled with the allowance for failure, and the necessity to formulate strategies applicable beyond the gaming realm (Moro et al., 2022). The contribution presents the tangible outcomes of YO-MEDIA (Carenzio, Ferrari, Pasta, 2024), specifically the video game, and the board games, which are the result of the writing and production efforts of the project team, in particular, the mechanics, graphic choices, characters, and atmospheres of the hybrid game. “Social Media Puppeteers” is a micro TTRPG adapted and customized to create an educational experience focused on media literacy, critical thinking, and social media dynamics developed by the Spanish unit of the project (the target audience is 11-17 years old). Incorporating elements of character creation and dice rolling found in traditional RPGs, it has been specifically designed to address the game's objectives and learning outcomes. Players assume the roles of politicians, journalists, scientists, or influencers, competing on a fictional social media platform to gain influence and promote media literacy. During the game, players earn points when they achieve certain objectives or goals related to their character's role and special abilities. “Social Media Fake News” is a card game designed to help players understand the features that can make a news story vulnerable and false. The goal is to be the first to run out of cards by constructing a fake news story. It is divided into news construction cards with elements such as striking headlines, emotional language, references for your story, polarizing phrases, and action cards that allow for strategic counterattacks on the news, causing opponents to eat their words. “Data Defenders” centers on a tower defense experience intertwined with a rich narrative and engaging mechanics, strategically designed to highlight media literacy during times of crisis. During the simultaneous threats of an alien invasion and a devastating pandemic, players assume the role of defenders tasked with safeguarding global data servers. The gameplay unfolds across diverse islands, each containing a key character in disseminating information in today's society and the game's universe. Players must deploy strategic defenses to contain the alien robots and stop the servers from being hacked. Featuring innovative elements such as the Data Analyzer mechanic, players can dissect and assess various media content for credibility and biases. Moreover, the Crisis Impact mechanic dynamically reflects the prevalence of misinformation, challenging players to manage the crisis effectively while developing their media literacy skills. The game is crafted with players aged 13 and above in mind, appealing to teenagers and young adults who enjoy mobile gaming experiences. Additionally, we will focus on the study protocol accompanying the experimentation, and the in-depth analysis of the games and the video game during the test sessions designed with various research stakeholders, including adolescents, educators, and teachers, part of the latter group having already been involved as informed and knowledgeable subjects during the interviews administered in the initial phase of the project. Games and video games, then, are designed to foster critical thinking, ethical decision-making, and discussions about the impact of social media in a fun and engaging way, offering significant educational potential in promoting critical thinking skills and media literacy.