Having adequate competence to interact with the media is a necessary condition for the full exercise of citizenship in the 21st century, without this competence, people will be less prepared to face the challenges imposed by the current communication ecosystem, therefore which must continue to insist on the need to form active, critical and reflective citizenships. This article presents the results of a study on the level of media competence in a group of teachers from seven university education institutions in five regions of Colombia. The methodology used was quantitative, not experimental, with the application of a questionnaire and the data were subjected to a multiple variance analysis that allowed identifying a medium level of media competence in teachers, with some differences between the dimensions of the competence analyzed. The results indicate that the best evaluated competencies are ideology and values, interaction processes, aesthetics and language. It is concluded that there are significant gaps between teachers, affecting their relationship and interaction with the media and affecting the important role that they can play before their students to exercise a more active role as citizens of the 21st century.