Subjetividades infantis: interfaces entre mídia e consumo

Abstract

In contemporaneity, the media, in its varied forms, has a constant and daily presence causing changes in the ways we relate and in the constitution of our subjectivity. The alliance between media and consumption is profitable and can lead to fragmented and ephemeral identities, and to utilitarian relations. Thus, this work aims to understand the relationship established between consumption and the media in the present day and to study its effects on children's subjectivity, from the perspective of children, parents and school, based on the psychoanalytic theoretical framework. To this purpose, five ludic workshops were held with nine children, aged between four and seven years, lasting one hour, as well as semi-structured interviews with their parents and/or guardians and with two teachers responsible for these classes. The procedures were carried out in the school environment of the participants; the interviews dealt with aspects inherent to family dynamics, conception of childhood, as well as the perspective of parents and school regarding the media and child consumption. The workshops, in turn, sought to provide an environment in which children could share their opinions and relate in a group, using playful resources that enabled them to emerge as social actors, such as narratives, toys, graphic and expressive materials etc. Participating children were divided into two groups, referring to their class and age group. The data from the procedures were audio and video recorded and after their transcription, categories and subcategories were listed, which were analyzed from the theoretical psychoanalytic framework. Thus, by analyzing the content of the speeches of the parents and the teachers and the workshops held with the children, one can see that the media has occupied an increasingly relevant place in the daily life, raising doubts and ambiguities in a scenario of constant changes and insecurity. The consumption appears directly linked to financial issues and does not cause so much estrangement in the families, who see in the toys and gifts the possibility of supplying the children's helplessness. Children, in turn, tend to reproduce behaviors that are seen or expected, they are exposed early to consumer ideals and competitive logic, showing difficulty in dealing with frustrations, otherness, idleness and boredom, with non-knowledge and with helplessness, show themselves to be needy and sometimes believe themselves omnipotent and omniscient, which implies the constitution of their subjectivity. It is then necessary to think of ways of empowering these subjects to stimulate their criticality and to that make it possible to receive their demands. In addition, it is evident the need to undertake more studies to shed more light on this subject.