Serious games and media literacy: developing critical thinking in the digital information society
Parole chiave:
Serious games, fake news, critical thinkingAbstract
The evolution of the digital landscape, from the rise of Web 2.0 to the Internet of
Things (IoT), has led to an unprecedented production and accessibility of information,
radically transforming the educational and social context. However, this abundance has
introduced a pressing challenge: the ability to discern truthful and relevant information from
fake news. This educational emergency calls for innovative approaches to foster users’
critical thinking. In this context, serious games emerge as promising tools, capable of
leveraging intrinsic motivation derived from play to support learning and the acquisition of
crucial skills. This article aims to examine the effectiveness of serious games in helping users
recognize fake news and develop a critical perspective on media content. To this end, it
analyzes the experiences of three serious games — MathE, Bad News, and JEDi —
highlighting how their gameplay dynamics contribute to raising awareness about the
mechanisms of false information dissemination and strategies for autonomous
identification. The findings from the reviewed studies reveal both the potential and the
limitations of these tools. Ultimately, this study may serve as a foundation for future
analyses regarding the use of serious games as instruments to support the development of
critical thinking and media literacy.
Riferimenti bibliografici
Axelsson, C. A. W., Nygren, T., Roozenbeek, J., & van der Linden, S. (2024). Bad News in the civics classroom: How serious gameplay fosters teenagers’ ability to discern misinformation techniques. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 1–27.
Chopra, K., Gupta, K., & Lambora, A. (2019, February). Future internet: The internet of things - A literature review. In 2019 International Conference on Machine Learning, Big Data, Cloud and Parallel Computing (COMITCon) (pp. 135–139). IEEE.
Devasia, N. (2024). The role of narrative in misinformation games. HKS Misinformation Review.
De la Fuente, J., Martínez-Vicente, J. M., & Sander, P. (2024). E-learning strategies for media literacy: engagement of interactive content and critical thinking. UNED e-Spacio.
Katsaounidou, A., Vrysis, L., Kotsakis, R., Dimoulas, C., & Veglis, A. (2019). MAthE the game: A serious game for education and training in news verification. Education Sciences, 9(2), 155.
Kiili, K., Siuko, J., & Ninaus, M. (2024). Tackling misinformation with games: A systematic literature review. Interactive Learning Environments, 32(10), 7086–7101.
Oliveira Moreira, T. D., Passos, C. A., Matias da Silva, F. R., Souza Freire, P. M., Fernandes de Souza, I., Bosaipo Sales da Silva, C. R., & Goldschmidt, R. R. (2024). JEDi – A digital educational game to support student training in identifying Portuguese-written fake news: Case studies in high school, undergraduate and graduate scenarios. Education and Information Technologies, 29(10), 11815–11845.
Oppedisano, F. O. (2025). Video Games to Counter Discrimination and Disinformation: An Educational Approach to Media Literacy. Convergências, 18(35).
Roozenbeek, J., & van der Linden, S. (2019). The fake news game: actively inoculating against the risk of misinformation. Journal of Risk Research, 22(5), 570–580.
Roozenbeek, J., & van der Linden, S. (2024). Bad News in the civics classroom: How serious gameplay fosters teenagers’ ability to discern misinformation techniques. Journal of Research on Technology in Education.
##submission.downloads##
Pubblicato
Come citare
Fascicolo
Sezione
Licenza
Copyright (c) 2025 Antonino Tarantino, Francesco Antonio Santangelo, Giusi Antonia Toto
Questo lavoro è fornito con la licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 4.0 Internazionale.
