MAIN CHALLENGES OF READING IN MEXICO IN THE INTERNET AGE - TECHNOLOGY - 2025

Among the main challenges of reading in Mexico in the Internet era, the need to verify the legitimacy of the broadcast media to confirm that it is quality information stands out, as well as to evaluate the real possibility of access to technological media, without which many will be left out of the communicational impact of the internet.

It is undeniable that the internet has penetrated today's society at all levels. It is no longer a luxury or something unknown and mysterious; Internet is now that invisible network, necessary and of mandatory possession and management, to execute and monitor the most basic human activities of the day to day.

According to statistics from 2018, 1 in 2 Mexicans does not trust the news they get through the internet. Source: pixabay.com

This network has brought new challenges, and one of the areas that has had a direct impact is reading. This habit, by whatever means, will always bring benefits to those who practice it, but it is important to understand all the implications that the internet age brings in this context.

For example, in this era it is even more necessary to filter the information to be consumed and avoid the development of the phenomenon called fake news, whose sole purpose is to promote disinformation.

The 7 main challenges of reading in Mexico in the Internet age

Personal resistance

One of the remnants of Mexican society is the already known resistance to reading, which tends to take hold even more when daily dynamics accelerate and promote speed in the consumption of information.

The predisposition to not want to read may increase in the context provided by the Internet, in which in many cases priority is given to content that is easy and fast to consume, such as videos or images, instead of prioritizing written content that allows the deepening of a knowledge through reading it.

Topography

Mexico is an extensive country of almost 2 million km2 that presents a changing geography. You can go in a matter of a few hours from the most scorching and endless plains to dense savannas and even subtropical forests.

These marked differences represent a challenge to overcome when communicating neighboring populations and integrating them into a single network. There are communities with less access to interactions in this way and, therefore, with less tendency to consume content written through this medium.

Limited access to the web or computers to navigate

Although it is true that many Mexicans have a standard of living that allows them to have a cellular device with access to the Internet, not everyone can afford Internet service at home, or even enjoy the advantages of having a computer with web access.

It should be remembered that the cost for internet service depends on the supply and demand market; it is not provided by the government. The latter grants licenses to private operators that establish the price of each of the plans to be contracted, and the faster the contracted access, the more expensive the bill will be at the end of the month.

In Mexico, approximately 65% ​​of the inhabitants have internet access. Under this context, to think that currently the Internet can be used to its maximum capacity as a fundamental way to access quality training readings available to the entire population, is inconceivable.

Fake news

A negative consequence that the internet age has brought is the notion of fake news, Anglicism that means “fake news”. It is about information disseminated with the sole purpose of misleading on some subject and generating an atmosphere of misinformation.

It is a concept that can be dangerous, since so-called fake news are designed to look like real news, so it is sometimes very difficult to determine if it is indeed legitimate information or if it is a hoax.

Connoisseurs of the subject such as the Spanish journalist Marc Amorós, point out that fake news is not a new concept, since the history of humanity is full of the dissemination of manipulated and biased information. The important difference currently emerging is that this diffusion spreads at a speed previously unthinkable thanks to the internet.

Given this scenario, it is vital to have mechanisms that allow evaluating the reliability of the sources consulted, in order to try to stay out of this phenomenon when online content is consumed.

Verification of legitimacy of sources

This challenge has to do with the previous concept, and it is that the large amount of information available (both real and false) has made that a medium that demonstrates responsibility and integrity is given greater value.

2018 was a complex year for Mexico in this context, as statistics indicate that it was ranked number 2 out of 37 countries in which exposure to fake news was evaluated.

According to these studies, Mexicans prefer to find out about the news through television or the written press, and the latter enjoys the highest confidence on the part of the population.

This situation is a reflection of the fact that the inhabitants of Mexico have lost confidence in the internet as a means of informing themselves, since statistics show that 1 out of 2 Mexicans does not trust the news they get through the network.

However, the reliability of this type of content increases when the information comes from the official portals of the news sources, unlike what happens with the news obtained through social networks.

So, for Mexicans, it has been necessary to focus on who is the issuer of information and how reliable it is, and any content that does not answer these questions satisfactorily is not taken into account as truthful.

Distractions

According to several authors, recent studies seem to show that reading physical books is more effective than those that are read on a screen. The reason for this is simple and predictable: the distractions that constantly bombard every reader prevent optimal concentration.

Social networks, advertisements and the thousands of pop-ups that invade the screens become the main agents of deconcentration from the initial task.

This situation shows that the act of reading through the internet will not be as effective if it is carried out considering the same dynamics that is applied when reading a physical book. As it is a different medium, the approach to reading through the internet must also be different from the usual one; only then can it be effective.

Literacy level

Despite being a thriving nation, Mexico maintains an illiteracy level of 4%. If we take into account that Mexicans number about 134 million people, there are almost 5.4 million inhabitants who still cannot read.

As a consequence of this, the large amount of content offered by the internet is insufficient for an audience that must first go through a literacy process.

References

1. "Reading in the mobile era: a view from Mexico" in Unesco. Retrieved on March 10, 2019 from Unesco: unesco.org
2. "This is how Mexicans read in the digital age" in Diario Excélsior. Retrieved on March 10, 2019 from Diario Excélsior: excelsior.com.mx
3. "Reading, great challenge for Mexico" in Vanguardia Magazine. Retrieved on March 10, 2019 from Vanguardia Magazine: vanguardia.com.mx
4. "The remains of reading in the age of the Internet" in Magazine How Do You See ?, National Autonomous University of Mexico. Retrieved on March 10, 2019 from Magazine How Do You See ?, National Autonomous University of Mexico: comoves.unam.mx
5. "Challenges of Reading in the Internet Era" in Google Books. Retrieved on March 10, 2019 from Google Books: books.google.co.ve
6. Meneses, G. "Fake news: who creates them, what for and how they spread" in Un (code). Retrieved on March 10, 2019 from Un (code): uncode.cafe
7. "Mexico ranks second in exposure to fake news worldwide" in Infobae. Retrieved on March 10, 2019 from Infobae: infobae.com