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The presence of cyberspace in the lives of young people is such that we can no longer distinguish between online and offline spheres. They live a process of onlife development that is not always equitable in terms of gender. This paper aims to account for the online behaviour of Spanish adolescents according to gender and age, the decisions they make when constructing their virtual identity, and the effects that this has on them. A quantitative study has been carried out at a national level (N=2,076, 12-18 years old) following a non-experimental ex post facto design by means of a survey study. The results show that there are gender differences in the preference for one or other social network. A high percentage of girls make different choices when it comes to their online presence. Unlike boys, girls state that their virtual self and their behaviour significantly influence the opinion that they have of themselves and their need to feel integrated. In conclusion, the decisions that adolescents make when creating their virtual selves do not only have negative consequences derived from poor management, but are also plagued by mandates and stereotypes that determine how they should be and what they should do online; something that is especially pressing for girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an up-to-date overview of how students in Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO) in Spanish public schools, aged between 11 and 16, approach the media, how they inform themselves, the degree of journalistic discrimination they have, and how they deal with the news in times of an infodemic and disinformation. In addition, it explores the opinion of teachers on the media deficits they perceive in their students. The main research technique used in this study was a descriptive, cross-sectional survey of 1,651 ESO students from all over Spain with a confidence level of <95% and a ±3% sampling error. In order to delve deeper into some of the main aspects pointed out by students, 77 in-depth interviews were conducted with teachers from all over Spain. The main results highlight that high school students are mainly informed through social networks, television, and their family or friendship groups; that they have difficulties in discriminating between information and opinion; and that, although they consider themselves capable of differentiating between news and hoaxes, more than half are unable to distinguish between fake and real news. According to the teachers in some of these schools, media consumption among students is non-critical, fuelled by the compulsive consumption of audiovisual and digital media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]