Banca de DEFESA: DANIELA DE ASSIS SILVA

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : DANIELA DE ASSIS SILVA
DATE: 12/12/2022
TIME: 14:00
LOCAL: por Videoconferência
TITLE:

By cell phone and through the streets of Salvador: political participation of the youth and the relationship with infocommunication skills.

KEY WORDS:

Infocommunication competences, Communication competences, Information, competences, Internet, Political participation, Youth – Salvador.

PAGES: 400
BIG AREA: Ciências Sociais Aplicadas
AREA: Comunicação
SUMMARY:

For almost a decade, demonstrations and protests have grown in the Brazilian political
landscape, supported by digital environments and media. Through optical fibers and avenues,
the population, especially youth, began to increasingly engage in public debate, suggesting an

expansion of democracy. However, the scenario that was unfolding soon met a growing anti-
political movement, guided by authoritarian discourses, encouraging researchers in the field

of Communication to understand, even more, the role of digital media in this process.
Focusing on the knowledge, competences, skills, and attitudes that emerge in the digital age,
in this thesis, we chose to investigate whether there is a relationship between
infocommunicational competences and the political participation of young people from
Salvador, aged 18 to 29, in policy. We aim to understand how the youth use digital
technologies, how often, for what purpose, among other issues. Regarding politics, the present
research focus on the use of these technologies as means of accessing information and talking
about the subject, with the intention of observing how young people act politically and in
what way. In addition, we asked about the perception of young people about their own
infocommunication competences: how they deal with the information they access, produce,
and disseminate on the network; how they dialogue in digital environments, how they
evaluate fake news etc. 42 questions were sent to young people from the capital of Bahia via
websurvey, after validation by the Research Ethics Committee. In addition to the responses of
280 participants living in different neighborhoods of Salvador (112 in all, i.e., 65.8% of the
city's neighborhoods), we conducted, as a qualitative step, semi-structured interviews with 10
young people, with the main objective of our research to investigate the relationship between
infocommunicational competences and political participation (on-line and off-line) of young
people from Salvador who are interested in politics. Our specific objectives are: 1. Check the
perception of young people regarding infocommunication competences; 2. Compare patterns
of political participation (on-line and off-line). The analysis of the data and information
collected involved statistical techniques (descriptive, factorial, and correlational), in addition
to content analysis, interpretation and inferences. As a result, concerning the first specific
objective, we found that most of the interviewees feel more apt in terms of information
competences than in terms of communication competences. Young people produce little
authorial content and ‘surf’ by cell phone. Regarding the second specific objective, we
identified that most participants have an elevated level of interest and a feeling of political
effectiveness; the internet is a source of information on the subject and stands out as a
socializing agent, while the family, for example, has less space in this regard. We also
observed that young people prefer to stay away from traditional political institutions,
preferring to act via non-institutionalized and on-line ways. To achieve the main objective of
the thesis, we also used the linear regression model and found a positive and statistically
significant association between infocommunication competences and political participation
(2018 and 2020) of respondents. We conclude that the competences to inform and
communicate for political purposes can be developed and strengthened, but they need a
continuous strengthening of criticality and commitment to liberal democracy.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externa ao Programa - 3204679 - GLEISE DA SILVA BRANDAO - nullExterno à Instituição - JULIANO MENDONÇA DOMINGUES DA SILVA - UNICAP
Externa à Instituição - JUSSARA BORGES DE LIMA
Interna - 366097 - MARIA CARMEN JACOB DE SOUZA
Presidente - ***.148.758-** - OTHON FERNANDO JAMBEIRO BARBOSA - UFBA