Communication Science Faculty Featured on the DU CHECK Podcast

In the 23rd episode of the educational podcast DU CHECK, aired on 19 November 2025, Assoc. Prof. Lucija Mihaljević, PhD, and Leali Osmančević, PhD, lecturers from the Department of Communication Studies at the Catholic University of Croatia (CUC), appeared as guests. The discussion focused on the importance of digital literacy and the need to cultivate, within the digital environment, individuals capable of critically decoding and evaluating media content.

The guests emphasized that today’s media landscape is increasingly marked by what they described as a “banalization of dialogue,” making it essential to develop skills that foster deeper understanding and responsible participation in communication processes. Special attention was given to the role of algorithms and digital platforms, which shape how information is shared and disseminated, alongside the reminder that the key component of well-designed digital education remains the human being. Digital literacy, they stressed, can be effective only when individuals actively reflect on, question, and understand the content they encounter on a daily basis.

During the podcast, the speakers also highlighted the place and role of children in the digital environment, underlining the importance of all stakeholders in education—especially parents, guardians, teachers, schools, and institutions—placing children at the center of educational policies. The conversation further addressed aspects of digital anthropology, pointing to the ways in which identity, communication practices, and social relationships are transforming under the influence of technological platforms.

These topics align with the lecturers’ ongoing research within the scientific project “Identity and Technology – Processes of Identification, Communication, and Interaction with New Technologies,” one of the projects approved through the Catholic University of Croatia’s Call for Multiannual and Annual Research Projects, which began implementation earlier this year. The project is led by Assoc. Prof. Lucija Mihaljević, PhD.

The podcast episode was produced by the Dubrovnik Audiovisual Center (AVCD) and UNIDU TV & AVCD, with the production team consisting of editor, host, sound editor, and music author Žarko Dragojević, and cameraman Ante Tolja.

The episode is available on the official DU CHECK platform channels: