Playing to Understand. The Video Game as a Research Laboratory on Media Literacy in Times of Crisis

The Yo-Media – Youngsters’ Media Literacy in Times of Crisis project explores the potential of games as tools for Media and Information Literacy education in times of crisis. The research is grounded in the paradigm of dynamic literacies and the perspective of participatory culture, interpreting play as a space for negotiation and shared meaning-making, and investigating how young people develop knowledge and critical strategies toward digital information. The research protocol consists of four integrated phases: administration of initial questionnaires to teachers and students to assess gaming habits, educational perceptions, and information literacy skills; individual game sessions with the video game Data Defenders; structured observation through a qualitative grid to analyse behaviours, interactions, and cognitive processes during playtesting; and a post-game phase, both individual and group-based, using graphic forms and focus groups to collect reflections and emerging strategies. The data combine quantitative and qualitative perspectives, enabling an integrated interpretation of the relationship between play experience, empowerment, and critical thinking. Preliminary findings indicate increased awareness of informational dynamics, improved source evaluation skills, and greater reflective participation. Yo-Media thus proposes an educational research model in which the video game becomes a laboratory for observing, analysing, and transforming cognitive and social processes related to digital citizenship.