Media Consumption Patterns and Communicative Competence of University Students

Abstract

The concept of media competence arises in the last decade to describe audiovisual education levels of citizens, the interaction of individuals with complex media environments, and the effects of the screens and their influences on audiences. This paper analyzes media consumption patterns and perceptions of university students to certain stimuli emitted by the screens (Internet, social networks, and television), recreating an overview of the uses and acceptance that recipients give to the media content they broadcast. In that sense, the results of this work allow to establish a relationship between screen consumption patterns of university students and the media contents. This research was conducted in a Mexican university. First, an exploratory questionnaire was applied to a stratified probabilistic sample, which helped to interpret how audience uses the new communication artifacts. Then, a second structured questionnaire was applied, to demonstrate the dynamism of current communication processes in contemporary societies, where the role of media is fundamental for public life, society, culture, and even a major element in private life of the subjects.

Keywords

• Audience
• Communication
• Communicative Competence
• Media Consumption
• Media Narrative
• Mexico
• Perceptions
• University Student