Digital devices and platforms have a great presence among young people. Several schools are expanding their digitisation and in recent years agreements have been signed with technological giants. During the course 2023-24, Ikusiker conducted surveys among 1,524 students aged between 11 and 17 years of Secondary Education in the Basque Country, and among 2,804 students from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and the Public University of Navarra (UPNA) aged between 18 and 23 years. He asks them about audiovisual consumption.

Regarding technological devices available to young people, almost all respondents have a mobile phone (94.8% in the ESO and 99.1% in the university), those with a laptop are the majority (80.2% in the ESO and 97% in the university) and more than half have video consoles and tablets. See Ros, the promoter of the Bidelagun project, explains that technological devices are provided to them when the young brain is “undeveloped” and “without receiving the necessary training”, and that in the digitalization plans of many educational centers the use of electronic devices has been driven “for more economic than pedagogical reasons”. The screen says they should enter the ESO “in a restricted and controlled way”.

According to Mikel Cerezo, a member of the Orain Prevention project, the use of computers in schools should be “what prepares you for life” from an academic point of view. For his part, the psychology professor at the UPV/EHU Juan Manuel Machimbarrena has stated that if technology is used in a “responsible and critical” way, its potential can be “transformative in many areas”, although often the damage is evident.

As for social networks, Cerezo said that in general it is not taught how they are managed in the centers and that this learning must be done not only from the center, but also from home. Machimbarrena said that the education system should incorporate "a digital education on technology" to publicize the risks and benefits of social networks. He says that parents should apply the rules, “promoting more responsible use than prohibition.”

The inability to reduce the use of social networks

Social media use is common among young people, especially in the case of Instagram and TikTok. Among those surveyed in Ipar Euskal Herria, the percentage of Instagram users predominates between 31 and 60 minutes a day (30.7%), while in Hego Euskal Herria most use it more than once a day (69.6% in that and 81.7% in the university). As for the TikTok network, most of them use more than once a day.

Asked about whether they would like to spend more or less time on networks, more than half of college students have responded that they would like to spend "much less time" or "a little less", while most of them see no reason to increase or decrease time.

Rose and Cerezo agree that as young people approach age, they are aware of their dependence on social networks, with a more elaborate critical mentality and a greater awareness of its use. However, despite being aware of this, it is "impossible" for them to escape from this press conference. “They talk about resignation and personally this brings me great sadness,” says Rose. In the same vein, Cerezo has pointed out that the elderly have reflected on their experience and that many know that they are making an "inadequate" use, but that "it is very difficult to escape this whirlwind".

"These smart smartphones and smartphones have entered our lives and come to stay," he says. Cerezo considers inappropriate use when it has a negative impact on another area of life. The Machimbarrena, for its part, considers that its use is inadequate when it “causes harm” to the user. He explains that damage can be “intrapersonal” – when problems are related to the loss of control of oneself – or “interpersonal” – when problems arise with parents or teachers.

However, Cerezo has pointed out that in the use of technology and social networks in recent years there has been a “change of trend”, as minors and adults are more aware of the consequences of using these technologies without control.

The role of technological giants

The social educator of the association Orain Prevencion has stressed that it should not be forgotten that technologies and social networks depend on “large corporations” and that, although they offer resources free of charge, their objective is to obtain an economic benefit. "Today we give a lot of data to the tech giants who take advantage of them to feed their technology," said Eli Pombo, member of the communications company Iametza, in the interview we made at the door of the Euskarabildua conference: "Data is the most precious asset of all times," he added. Cerezo also believes that information is “the most important power of this time.”

Pombo and Rose talk about the algorithms that these corporations use. Pombo states that through them they seek to “offer content to our liking and desire”, which leads us to “an increasingly reduced conception of the world” and “no more diverse”. Project member Bidelagun added that algorithms are causing “individuals’ ideas and interests to become more and more radical.”

Creating a non-existent reality

Asked about the reality reflected by social networks and new technologies, Cerezo has responded that beforehand they show us a “prepared” and “beaten” reality with concrete objectives, which can put a person “against their reality”. It says that social networks enter the lives of adolescents when they are “in a situation of tremendous personal or emotional vulnerability” and can condition their character and critical thoughts.

Machimbarrena, professor at the UPV/EHU, told us that with what is shown in social networks the user must be “critical”, since the creator of the content “differs what he wants to show”. Cerezo considers it “very important” to look and question from a critical perspective what is seen on social networks: “Our adolescents and children should know the other face of what they are seeing and then have that information available, especially to make decisions that can benefit or protect them.”

Ros and Cerezo have referred to the filters used in social networks to highlight the experience. Project member Bidelagun talks about tools that embellish the face: “The problem is that a young man who sees these images for five or six hours a day, considers those artificial faces as natural, they become models of beauty in his unconscious, and from there come the problems of dysmorphia, eating disorders, the negative influence on self-esteem, and in some cases the ideas of suicide.”

“Effortless success”

Rose has stressed that the messages given by many youtubers and influencers reflect "an effortless success" and spread "a false idea of happiness," and Cerezo has affirmed that young people compare "whether they want or not" what they see on social networks with their own life.

Machimbarrena explains that to get the attention of the user in social networks “mechanisms such as the continuous scroll – vertical or horizontal movement to see the contents – and the quick scroll are prioritized”; and Rose adds that “it often doesn’t matter” if what is shown is true or false. Cerezo has underlined the volume of information society currently has: “XIX. In the twentieth century, we have gone from very few people to having too much information.”

The study conducted by Ikusiker has shown that in the new media ecosystem, social networks are the source of information for most young people, ahead of conventional television channels. Most traditional media prioritize content that they share on social networks, but among the younger ones, the explanations of youtubers, instagramers and tiktokers get a very similar amount of data.