The COVID-19 pandemic has flooded the public sphere with large amounts of information, engendering what some specialists have dubbed the infodemic. Among the mechanisms used to mitigate the effects of the infodemic, critical media literacy has proven a valuable approach. This study aimed to analyze the critical media skills (CMS) of young people and adults in relation to the variables of infodemic awareness (IPA), infodemic and wellbeing (ISW), emotional reaction (ERI), and media trust (MTC). A cross-sectional online study with 404 participants (Mage=32.8) was conducted in two virtual communities in Mexico during the first semester of 2021. Descriptive analysis revealed highly critical media skills in participants. Adults showed high levels of IPA, while young people presented high levels of ISW, ERI, and MTC. Observations by the age group indicated an association between CMS and ISW, and CMS and MCT, while the association between CMS and IPA was null. The COVID-19 outbreak has intensified the consumption of digital media and access to untrustworthy information. Critical media literacy may protect individuals from the risks of infodemic by enhancing critical roles and attitudes toward media discourse. This study supports the recommendation to promote media literacy initiatives that inoculate critical media skills as mechanisms to counteract the misinformation in health crises. La pandemia por la COVID-19 ha inundado de información poco confiable la esfera pública dando lugar a lo que algunos especialistas llaman la infodemia. Entre los mecanismos utilizados para mitigar los efectos de la infodemia, la alfabetización mediática ha demostrado tener un papel valioso. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar las actitudes críticas hacia los medios (ACM) de jóvenes y adultos en relación con la percepción de infodemia (PAI), su influencia en el bienestar socioemocional (BSE), las reacciones emocionales (REI) y la confianza en los medios (CMC). Realizamos un estudio transversal con 404 participantes (M=32,8) en dos comunidades virtuales de México durante el primer semestre de 2021. El análisis descriptivo mostró niveles altos de ACM entre los participantes, mayores niveles de PAI en adultos y mayores niveles de BSE y REI en jóvenes. Las observaciones por grupo de edad revelaron una asociación entre ACM y las variables BSE y CMC, mientras que la asociación entre ACM y PAI fue nula. La pandemia de la COVID-19 ha intensificado el consumo de medios e información no confiable. La alfabetización crítica mediática puede proteger a las personas de los riesgos de la infodemia al mejorar sus competencias y habilidades para informarse. Los resultados de esta investigación respaldan la recomendación de promover iniciativas de alfabetización mediática que favorezcan las actitudes críticas como mecanismos de defensa en crisis sanitarias.

Social media platforms provide opportunities for users across the world to connect and communicate between them and engage into acts of social support and entertainment. Yet it can also bring negative consequences as it has been associated with poor mental health and life dissatisfaction. This underlines the importance of delivering social media literacy (SML) interventions that raise awareness of the dangers and threats that are hidden within. To this date, SML initiatives have shown their benefits towards the acquisition of SML skills through the forms of school interventions and mini-games. However, studies on promoting SML through social media platforms need to be also encouraged and innovative approaches to provide interactive scenarios with hands-on experiences need to be formulated. Hence, the project COURAGE introduces a new approach towards SML by proposing the integration of educational opportunities within a controlled social media platform. To provide students the opportunity to learn whilst they naturally explore social media we propose the integration of virtual learning companions. In this paper we report seven empirical approaches towards SML skills acquisition powered by virtual learning companions. The paper concludes with a discussion towards the benefits and limitations of using this type of SML interventions.