Positioning of traditional media regarding the educational use of smartphones in secondary education

Abstract

This article analyses the ways in which traditional media (press, radio, and television) portray the educational use of smartphones in secondary education. The aim of this study is to find out how the traditional media reflect the educational use of mobile phones in secondary education. For the analysis, the media outlets leaders in the audience ratings in Spain where reviewed, as well as the ones that are leaders in the four autonomous regions that are included in the project (C. Madrid, C. Valenciana, Catalonia, and Castilla-La Mancha). A qualitative study of nearly 300 press, radio, and television news items from the last 10 years was carried out, utilizing an emergent labelling process aided by triangulation, which facilitated its refinement and the emergence of categories. The qualitative analysis was complemented by counting and graphing the quantitative data. The results obtained show a large number of news items that use the abuse of mobile phone usage by young people as a pretext to argue the need to forbid or regulate their educational use. Also, important voices are underrepresented in the discourse, such as those from families, young people, and experts in educational technology. Among the conclusions obtained, it is palpable that traditional media generate a state of opinion in which the use of these devices for educational purposes cannot be separated from their general use in daily life. The dissemination of good practices is thus overshadowed by the number of negative traits associated to mobile phone use, resulting in a discouraging narrative that prevents the spread of educational experiences with mobile phones in schools.