The Chair for the Proper Use of ICT is involved in two projects in 2021: firstly, a survey of students in the 4th year of ESO (Compulsory Secondary Education), 1st and 2nd years of Bachillerato (Upper Secondary Education), and 1st and 2nd years of Intermediate Vocational Training Cycles in schools in Castellón, Valencia, and Alicante. This study, conducted in collaboration with the Regional Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport, will involve approximately 5,000 students and aims to determine aspects of their access to ICT, such as the hardware and software they have, the type and speed of their internet connection, and their experience and knowledge of online teaching tools. The study also incorporates qualitative aspects, such as students’ predisposition and opinions toward online teaching, and examines the relationship between these results and the socioeconomic level of their families.

Secondly, the UMH Chair will carry out the ‘Cassandra Project,’ whose overall objective is to evaluate the influence of screen use and/or overuse on the well-being and psychosocial development of adolescents, given that ICTs also have a very important emotional and social interaction component. Among the study’s objectives are questions such as “the effect of social media on self-esteem, determining the relationship between the consumption of violent digital content and violent behavior, as well as establishing relationships between pornography consumption and attitudes toward sexual behavior,” stated Councilor Pascual. She added that the project will also “explore the relationship between family climate and parental mediation, the use of new technologies and other psychosocial variables, as well as analyze the relationships between value structures and the different uses of ICTs, whether in terms of type, content, frequency, or intensity.”

The UMH Chair for the Responsible Use of ICT aims to study the impact of digitalization on the lives of young people and adolescents, and the individual and social transformation resulting from the digital environment: changes in social relationships, values, mental health, and culture, among others. The Valencian Regional Government will contribute a budget of €30,000 in 2021 to fund these studies and the operation of the Chair.

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