"Only 8 percent of those over 16 in Croatia have had the opportunity to listen to or learn about the skills of critical viewing of media content. Slightly less than a third of parents never or rarely talk to their children about the media and media content, and the ball of responsibility is increasingly being passed from the industry to parents. Slightly less than half of parents are concerned about their children's use of YouTube, mostly due to the easy availability of violent and inappropriate (73 percent) and age-inappropriate content (40 percent)."
This was shown by a survey by the Agency for Electronic Media from March 2019, the results of which were mentioned today at the panel discussion " Video influencers: where private interests end and social responsibility begins ", which was held at VERN' as part of the celebration of Media Literacy Day, an event organized by the Agency for Electronic Media and UNICEF Croatia.
The two-part discussion brought together representatives of regulatory bodies and the media, experts in the field of education and psychology, and creators of internet content: Ivana Ćosić Pregrad , clinical psychologist; Matej Lončarić from JoomBoos; Robert Tomljenović , Deputy President of the Council and Director of the Agency for Electronic Media, Anamarija Virant from Degordian, Maja Mihovilović , lecturer from VERN, and YouTube and Instagram content creators Matea Frajsberger , Svenky , Marko Vuletić and Luka Lajić .
The aim of the panel was to analyze the responsibility of content creators, the responsibility of the media themselves, including internet platforms, as well as legislation in the segment of content production and distribution, as well as the impact on young people and the creation of their opinions.
A study by the global consortium EU Kids Online showed that " almost a quarter of parents in Croatia agree with the statement that it is permissible to insult and misrepresent oneself on the Internet. Furthermore , 34 percent of children and young people pointed out that they feel capable of checking the accuracy of information they find on the Internet, while 32 percent believe that they can easily make a decision about which source to trust," warned psychologist Ćosić Pregrad.
"The level of our responsibility is a bit scary because I'm actually influencing someone's opinion with my content. I think we have a great responsibility, but we have to present and promote that responsibility in the right way," Svenky explained.
Marko Vuletić from Joomboos believes that content creators, but also they as a platform, must know "how to create entertaining content that young people can consume, but also critically evaluate."
Anamarija Virant from Degordian emphasized that three parties participate in collaboration and promotion on digital channels – " the brand, the agency and the influencer, and all of them must aim for the final content to be fully compliant with all regulations. Unfortunately, this is not always the case with us."
VERN's student and one of the online content creators, Luka Lajić, pointed out that he "insists with the brands or agencies themselves that every post I place be highlighted as sponsored, because honesty with the audience is important."
"A media product cannot be classified as a consumer product, because today's media product is not harmless and the consequences of its consumption can be far-reaching," warned VERN's lecturer Maja Mihovilović . Both panel discussions were moderated by VERN's lecturers – Marija Volarević and Marija Slijepčević .
