Tag: #MediaLiteracy

20August2021
by Darko Soković

You’re Not Alone

Blog

The company I run will celebrate its tenth anniversary this January. Of course, I remember everything—how the idea first came to us, what others told us (“Don’t do it, kids, are you out of your minds?!”), how we knew nothing yet thought we knew everything. That’s just how it goes. I remember it all, but from the comfort of my office chair now, I can’t quite summon that feeling—the one that made us unbuckle all our safety belts, take the leap, and say, “That’s it, we’re doing this.” How did we manage to make every decision, somehow push through the hardest moments? Honestly, I couldn’t even make up a simple, motivational answer if I tried.

How are decisions even made? When you don’t have hard data or deep insights, you rely on gut feeling, experience, and sheer stubbornness—survive now, analyze later. That’s how we’ve somehow made it to a decade (January is still a ways off, admittedly), and that’s how countless other small, medium, and even some big businesses I know have done it too. Among the many quirks of our homeland, one of the most stressful is that barely anyone knows what tomorrow will bring, let alone five or ten years from now.

That’s why it’s been hard to adjust to a new, yet painfully logical reality we’ve been implementing in our business and sharing with others: we now invest enormous effort and resources into truly understanding the people we’re speaking to—their habits, needs, ideas, values, how they consume information, how they entertain themselves, how they celebrate. In the communications business, these insights are practically our lifeblood, but they’re becoming unavoidable for everyone.

Here’s an exclusive for loyal readers: 44% of Serbian teens aged 12–17 have a TikTok account. What does that mean for you as a parent? What does it mean for you as a leader? Will you be among those mothers and fathers who recently lost their minds when a Belgrade municipality invited a successful athlete (who also happens to be a TikToker) to give a school lecture? The kids, of course, went wild—the parents were scandalized. And while you or I may not have even heard of TikTok a year or so ago, 2% of our citizens now say it’s their primary source of news about the world around them. “No big deal,” you might say—and I’d agree, if the data didn’t also show that only 3% rely on Twitter (yes, that blue hive of “layabouts and latte-sippers” whose soundbites regularly end up on A3 posters printed in full color and brought into TV studios by the president).

The most trusted news source? Online portals (24%). Traditional print media? A measly 2%. (What a paradox that I’m writing this in a magazine.) But here’s the kicker: 4% of Serbians place the most trust in influencers.

When it comes to social media, Facebook still dominates—60% of people use it daily—followed by YouTube and Instagram. Over 60% of our citizens are on Viber. These numbers come from the extensive Media and Digital Literacy in Serbia study conducted by CeSID for Propulsion. The research, carried out over the past 12 months with a sample of 1,500 citizens (plus employees in public administration, businesses, media houses, universities, students, and influencers), was published just days ago at the end of September.

A few more fresh insights I wish we’d had when starting our business – if you’re planning a social media presence, know that almost no one scrolls the news feed on Facebook or Instagram anymore. What’s catching attention instead? Instagram Stories, which about 40% of Serbians exclusively watch rather than browsing traditional feeds. Messaging apps are dominating too, with a whopping 83% actively using Facebook Messenger for daily communication. And in an interesting twist, Facebook Groups are staging a major comeback, currently being used by 46% of our citizens for everything from local community discussions to niche interest groups.

These figures become even more significant when you consider they represent our general population – not just the tech-savvy or social media power users. That’s exactly why we’ve gone beyond surface-level reporting and published everything in far greater detail at novapismenost.rs. We’re firm believers that reliable data – the kind that should drive real business and policy decisions – needs to be freely available to everyone who needs it: from entrepreneurs and marketers to media professionals, government institutions, educators, influencers, and really anyone trying to navigate our rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Crucially, these figures represent the general population—not just internet or social media users. That’s why we’ve published everything in far greater detail at novapismenost.rs, because we believe reliable data—the kind that drives real decisions—should be available to everyone: businesses, media, institutions, communicators, influencers, and society at large.

How we receive information, from whom, and how we process it to make decisions have become the most critical skills we—as responsible individuals, whether in private life or business—must master. Otherwise, someday, they might write about us as “former giants brought to their knees,” who “failed to adapt to the new era.”

Is it hard? For me and my team too, believe me. But we have to. And don’t worry—you’re not alone.

10June2021
by Darko Soković

Where Are Your Kids?

Blog

One thing’s for sure: your kids—whether you’re their parent or teacher—aren’t reading this article, nor do they care about public media portals or other news outlets (all research confirms this). So relax, and let’s talk about where Gen Z and younger kids spend their time, how they entertain themselves, where they get their information, what excites them, and what makes them cry.

The answer to all these questions can be summed up in one word: online. And that’s not exactly news, is it? But the problem with today’s world—both offline and online—is that it’s so complex that we first need a deep theoretical understanding just to grasp reality in these two realms, followed by a set of practical approaches and tricks to navigate the overwhelming jungle of content. An adult might ignore this when making choices for themselves, but when your responsibility extends to the future of a young person, there’s no room for improvisation.

We often hear parents lamenting their kids’ digital skills, saying they can’t even keep up with where their children go online, what they can do on various devices, and how everything has gone to hell—so much so that their predictions about the future of the digital space are bleak and grim. Research from the New Literacy program, run by Propulsion with USAID, isn’t surprising: four out of five parents think their kids are on YouTube, but they’re actually all on TikTok; they trust influencers the most and look for ways to escape parents who think they’re helping them stay safe online by demanding their social media passwords. Who can even keep up anymore? Any parent would feel incompetent in the face of their child’s technical knowledge and digital speed. How do you help a kid? Do they even need help? Should we just step aside because who can keep up with them? So many questions, so few answers.

The younger the generation, the better their technical skills (we’re “digitally savvy,” as the experts say). But the way the digital world we live in shapes our thoughts, attitudes, and ultimately the decisions we make—that’s the realm of “new literacies.” These include digital, media, information, financial, health, emotional, and every other kind of literacy—and there’s a lot of room for improvement.

Let’s try not to lecture each other (even though that’s our first instinct) and instead listen and learn about new media and digital literacy, no matter which generation we belong to. If you’re genuinely wondering where your kids are, maybe it’s because we adults no longer know where we are either. So there’s no shame in asking someone younger—you’d be surprised how much they know. And all it takes is one click.

10May2021
by Darko Soković

Serbs Most Digitally Literate, Internet in Serbia Safe Thanks to Dialogue Between Kids and Parents

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If you believed every word of this headline without bothering to fact-check it—you’re not alone. Half of citizens almost never pay attention to media sources, and two-thirds only read the headline and a bit more, according to a CeSID study conducted for Propulsion and USAID as part of the New Literacy program.

Let’s be clear: we’re not digitally illiterate, but we’re far from excelling. The younger the generation, the better their technical skills (we’re “digitally savvy,” as experts say). But how the digital world influences us—shaping our thoughts, attitudes, and ultimately our decisions—that’s where media, information, and digital literacy come in, and there’s plenty of room for improvement.

Over 60% of us use Viber and Facebook, but these averages mostly include older users. While you, as a parent, scroll through Facebook or Instagram in the morning, your kids are on Instagram Stories, Reels (do you even know what that is?), and TikTok, where more than half of Serbian teens have an account. While you “like” posts from close friends and family, your kids follow “unknown people from their generation with entertaining content” who “show life as it is, without sugarcoating”, as kids told the New Literacy program.

If you’re over 30, terms like “influencer” or “TikTok” probably trigger unease and dark premonitions. And why wouldn’t they? Mainstream media, which barely understands these phenomena (and somewhat fears them), only highlights bizarre stories about them.

Take, for example, the 7th most popular TikToker in the Balkans—Luka Bojanović Bojanče from Montenegro, with 630,000 followers (more than Montenegro’s entire population). No Montenegrin media outlet even comes close to that reach. Fortunately, Bojanče understands that he himself is a kind of media, with significant influence and responsibility. These days, he’s working with a student organization to patiently and responsibly educate people, urging Montenegrins to get vaccinated and generally promoting dialogue, understanding, and learning.

Many of his peers, however, were caught off guard by fame, leaving them frozen in the headlights of millions of followers. This hesitation often takes grotesque turns, spilling over into negative influence. To “protect” kids from this, 62% of parents unsuccessfully restrict internet access, while few have any meaningful conversation with their children about online behavior. And when they do, it’s rarely about building trust—more often, it’s demanding passwords or stalking them online, earning the title of “clueless boomers.”

So how can this headline become truly accurate and firmly grounded in reality? The solution is both painfully simple and painfully obvious:

Talk. Listen. Learn from each other—even if you live under the same roof. And don’t be afraid to check a credible source, study, guide, or webinar, because this new era demands completely new media and digital literacy. Programs like ours—novapismenost.rs and medijskapismenost.com—exist for exactly that reason.

9May2021
by Darko Soković

Do You Speak Digital?

Blog

If nearly 60% of citizens believe spin, disinformation, and propaganda plague our media landscape—as revealed by CeSID’s ongoing New Literacy research for Propulsion and USAID—then who exactly is doing the spinning? Over a third point to the most-watched national TV channel, followed by public broadcasters, two tabloids with their online portals, and one (barely watched) national frequency. Yet when asked “Which media do you follow most?” citizens name—you guessed it—these very outlets. How does this paradox persist?

One might assume people have simply tuned out a world gone mad, retreating into private bubbles of self-preservation. Of course not. Consider this: 83% of parents think their kids waste time on YouTube, while teens actually spend hours daily on TikTok, glued to influencers who—they claim—“show the world as it really is, no filters.” Parents and teachers vaguely recognize these digital stars exist, but through a distorted lens: clueless about what messages their children absorb, beyond occasional tabloid headlines screaming about some influencer’s tragic demise. So Gen Z constructs reality through random internet strangers they follow religiously—on platforms their parents can’t navigate—while adults soak up propaganda from the very TV channels and portals teens haven’t touched in years.§

Under one roof, two parallel universes: parents scrolling fear-mongering headlines on portals, teens scrolling unfiltered TikTok takes—neither speaking the other’s language. The influencers holding generational minds hostage wield nuclear-level cultural impact, yet most have no clue how to use it responsibly. Meanwhile, legacy media bombards adults with spin they swallow uncritically.

What’s to be done?

First, let’s acknowledge our media ecosystem’s dizzying complexity—enough to make anyone throw up their hands. Second, resist the urge to lecture each other (however tempting) and instead listen across generations about this new digital literacy. Third—think systemically. Parents, educators, influencers, policymakers, media, businesses: New Literacy works with all these groups to collaboratively map this chaotic terrain and gradually, step by step, become fluent in the language of our new reality.

If motivation is strong, even Chinese can be learned overnight. This? Far more complex—but exponentially more urgent. Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t worry—at least you’re not alone.