Personal competence

Its focus is on strengthening the qualities that enable the effective action of individuals in relation to one's self, which is significantly associated with the improvement of living conditions through the use of media and ICT. Mainly it refers to create dispositions for self-dependent, media-related judgment (Tulodziecki, Grafe, 2019). To strengthen the autonomy of the subject which accepts the power of independence with freedom and responsibility for its own but also as a social development under the influence of media and information content. It enables the defense of a wide range of individual and collective rights using information technologies and information available in the diversity of media discourses, and actively participating in them.

The autonomy of the subject is based on the development of his/her active reflexiveness. Applying the more general OECD approach to our area (2005), reflexiveness is perceived as a complex process of thinking and acting at the level of using metacognitive skills, creative abilities and taking a critical stance. At the level of critical thinking, it allows both the examination of the qualities of the media and information, as well as the justification of the causes of a certain way of dealing with them and their consequences, especially in relation to one's self. It leads to the development of guidelines for self-action. The individual is in a permanent dialogue with himself as part of a continuous effort to achieve an appropriate relationship and behavior towards the media. Overall, reflexiveness involves a more general way of creating experiences of thoughts, feelings and also social relationships in a media context. It is related to the need for the development of mental and social maturity in individuals, which will allow them to avoid media pressures or social pressures, take different perspectives, make independent decisions and take responsibility for their actions (OECD, 2005). It is thus an expression of the intellectual maturity of the individual transferred to the media sphere.

The presence of metacognition as an ability to evaluate one's ways of thinking and behaving in media contexts takes in personal competencies a form of self-regulation and application of self- modification and self-correction mechanisms. These are a prerequisite for effective self- development. Self-regulation concerns the relationship with the typical phenomena of the digital environment (hyperconsumption, hyperconnectivity, infoxication, infostress, technostress and addictions derived therefrom). It takes the form of personality habits for better and more moderate use of the media, which include:

• more reflexive infotechnological patterns of reception and production – a framework of “slow communication” (Freeman, 2009, Barranquero-Carretero, 2013);

• "digital disconnection" and "information diet" practices, i.e. an ecological approach to the media (Serrano-Puche, 2013);

• emotional regulation in a digital environment with the occurrence of emotional hypertrophy.

It is also related to the encouragement of personal digital balance and the prevention of mental and physical health disorders under the influence of technology. In this sense, there is a correlation with the dimensions of psychosocial life skills, or healthy lifestyle formulated by the WHO (Life Skills Education for Children and Adolescents in Schools, 1994). (Conf. competence model of Gabelas Barroso, Marta-Lazo, Hergueta Covacho, 2013).

These abilities can be perceived as part of a more complex personal quality of wisdom, or reasonableness as a special operational habit, consisting in the prudent use of media in order to expand diverse human capacities, especially knowledge, wise judgments and decisions, as was suggested by Prensky (2009) as digital wisdom. Furthermore, it includes well-considered and responsible manifestations and interactions of an individual in the media space or through the media, and thus implies a correct assessment of matters relating to one's own life and behavior with the media.

Cultural competence

New competencies tend to be perceived primarily as a set of cultural competencies and social skills (Jenkins et all, 2009). The area of core competencies by which media competence is expanded results primarily from the nature of the converged digital participatory media (Jenkins, 2006). It is perceived, in the context of cultural change as the culture of creative production and the culture of co-creation, or the culture of remix (Lessig, 2013) also called "Sharismo" (Reig Hernández, 2013). It is characterized by the collision of high and low cultural forms as natural components of media production processes. On the one hand, it encourages personal or collective expressions and the creation and communication of aesthetic values (Pérez Tornero, Varis, 2012) within the original media creation, or they have a more profane form especially in the context of remix production. These remix productions, as Aparici and Osuna Acedo recall, often have the nature of interpreting culture, politics or economics (2013). Massive recombinations of already mediated and mixed media contents are also an expression of the essential need for creative work with symbols, contents and meanings of the new generation, who have confidential knowledge of new technologies (Slušná, 2011). These competencies thus have their foundations in the development of the personal capacity of creativity in synergy with the capacity of creativity of other participants of communication situations involving broader social goals and problems. Also at the level of the need for innovation and improvement of societal solutions to diverse problems.

The extension of media competence by the means of cultural competence is a particular way of responding to new media trends and the goals of media education derived therefrom. According to J. Pérez Tornero and T. Varis, the values of understanding and respect for cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue represent important values of the "new movements" of media education, i.e. media education, which respects the autonomy of each culture in its singularity and at the same time creates the conditions for the construction of a universal dialogue between them, supporting the understanding and sharing of mutual values. In terms of assimilation of these values, media education prevents the spread of stereotypes and prejudices and defends the potential of communication media in creating a universal culture of peace (2012, p. 71). Moreover, it is a tool for humanizing the globalized digital space. The practice of concrete values takes the form of developing the ability to interact with people and different groups in a pluralistic and multicultural environment in the media space (Ferrés Prats, Piscittelli, 2012). At the same time, it builds on the development of cultural awareness, cultural identity among individuals and their positive attitude towards the elements and manifestations of the spiritual and material culture of their community, especially cultural values, as well as intercultural awareness and understanding of how the media and modern technologies contribute to their dissemination. It also means the ability to apply an active and participatory approach enabling the dissemination of these values through the media in intercultural communication. In this respect, there is an intersection with social and, particularly, civic competencies (Kačinová, 2020, p. 184).

The development of cross-cultural awareness and citizenship is represented by the values implemented in the UNESCO MIL concept (Moore, 2008), also in the form of the requirement to teach an individual how to use information, media and technology to defend rights, intercultural and interreligious dialogue, democratic participation as well as the fight against all forms of inequality, hatred, intolerance and violent extremism (Grizzle, Singh, 2016), which could disrupt the culture of coexistence.

At the same time, in terms of applying their creative potential as a specific cultural disposition, the individual will be able to contribute with his own work to the development of media culture (Tulodziecki, 2015) or cyberculture representing a specific cultural artifact, using the means at his disposal in the context of participatory culture. The prerequisite is the acquisition of the essential elements of a given culture and the tools of its expression, as well as the ability to critically analyze typical phenomena and their effects, such as the cultural homogenization (Ferrés Prats, Piscittelli, 2012) and the stereotypes created by the media.

Social competence

The demand to improve the capacity of expression through the media is related to the development of the ability to communicate and to establish different kinds of social relationships in the digital space as well as the acquisition of adequate social behaviour in a hyperconnected environment. This means creating an environment of interpersonal reciprocity using digital tools, which relates to the need to develop an "extended" social competence of the subjects. The digital hyperconnected environment helps this effort as it is associated with the effect of "extended sociability" (Reig Hernández, 2013), by strengthening or expanding various types of relationships existing both offline or online. With the parallel of the concept of a network society, which to a greater extent organizes its relations through networked digital media (Van Dijk, 2006, Castells, 2009a), there is a networked individual who acts in the same way participating in the development of social structures.

The digital environment is thus considered an ideal environment for the development or renovation of the basic social needs of an individual. Sanz and Creus (2013), who understand the issue from a broader anthropological perspective, recall that the benefit of the internet and social media is the return of what humanity has begun to lose - the restoration of human natural capabilities: the disposition to cooperate, work and learn in cooperation, thus enabling the "revaluation of cooperation" and the "revaluation of collective knowledge" (Sanz, Creus, 2013). Following the concept of Jenkins (2006) and Lévy (2004) in a network society, collaboration generating collective intelligence in the process of learning, production, problem solving is a key concept and a typical "new" feature derived from the nature of participatory culture on which educational activities need to focus (Jenkins, 2006). The collective intelligence becomes an effective tool of social learning by effectively mobilizing the competencies of an individual at the level of expanding one's self- potential of being with the contribution of others. At the same time, there is a mutual appreciation and recognition of personal capital. Each is for the other a source of expansion of knowledge from which it is possible to learn in dialogue. The activation of knowledge takes place in the transformation of differences into collective wealth (Lévy, 2004).

This approach implies living a whole spectrum of social skills or interpersonal skills, such as mutual understanding between individuals and groups. It specifically emphasizes the development of social intelligence, social insight, the ability to empathize, compassion, social sensitivity, tolerance for otherness and respect for rights and freedoms (Švec, 2002), but also the prevention or possible resolution of conflicts, so that it is possible to make the expanded virtual space more social. At this point, it is again possible to apply the essential life skills of WHO (1994).

The basis of "extended" social competence is thus the development of the individual's capacity to participate in communication overcoming information reductionism one that is not limited to the exchange and creation of information (Soriano Rodríguez, 2013) in the context of infoxification, but is the convergence and hybridization of social purposes. Among other things, it also takes the form of active involvement in the dynamics of social engagement as cooperative movements or solidarity movements which are examples of using the digital space for social as well as civic purposes.

Competence

The development of media competence hides the potential of forming not only media users and consumers, but active actors who will be able to produce social change through creative and responsible use of the media (Soriano Rodríguez, 2013) and to involve themselves in public communication through them. It is based on the declared societal demand related to the strategic importance of media competence in the information society since the 1980s (Grundwald declaration on media education, UNESCO 1982).

At the same time, in the environment of European professional forums covered by the key actors promoting its development in national education systems (Council of Europe, Council of the European Union, European Commission), its strategic significance and contribution in the context of the phenomena of globalization, especially the massive spread of disinformation through online media, is currently being discussed. In the search for adequate means of effective defense against these phenomena and their consequences, media education can be a way to increase resistance to various types of disinformation, but also various forms of extremism as their accompanying phenomenon. Especially with the focus on the development of autonomous critical thinking and the encouragement of active civic participation, but also the development of self-awareness and behaviour respecting human rights that would imply the development of self-regulatory mechanisms. The document "Tackling online disinformation: a European Approach", adopted by the European Commission in 2018, resonates with the call to build a more responsible information ecosystem, which is based on increasing media education and developing the media competence of individuals.

In projecting a new type of media competence it is necessary to highlight how new forms of virtual communication affect the performance of citizenship, the challenges of the new technological communication environment and to address the situation of digital exclusion in this respect (Fueyo Gutiérrez, Rodríguez-Hoyos, Hoechsmann, 2018). The issue of overcoming digital divisions specifically relates to the need for formation in global citizenship at the level of developing the skills of individual participation in a democratic community and in building a global society (Guttiérez Martín, 2003) using digital technologies. It also relates to the complex role of digital citizenship education in empowering awareness, freedom, critical autonomy and civic participation in political, social, economic, environmental, intercultural and other issues through the appropriate use of media technologies (Gozálvez-Pérez, Contreras-Pulido, 2014). At the same time, it represents the need for effective mobilization of each individual in this area. The intention is to prevent unequal opportunities and to assure that every citizen is able to exercise or defend his/her rights in the digital environment. This means moving towards a framework for media literacy for engaged citizenship in participatory democracy (Mihailidis, Thevenin, 2013) as part of educational systems.

The participation of individuals in the media involves two interconnected ways of active participation. According to Carpentier (2011) these are a) participation in media production and b) through the media as a mediated participation in public debate and self-presentation in public spaces, where citizens can express their views and experiences, as well as communicate with others. In the first case, it includes special tools of civic journalism, or „We Media“ (Gillmor, 2004), but also user- generated content, "self-publishing" or Peer-to-Peer (P2P).

In the context of the above-mentioned approaches, we propose to summarize the model of media competence as an "augmented competence" as showed in Graph 1.

Source: Authors’ elaboration