Cidades, jovens e escola: o território e a educação formal como caminhos para o uso adequado das tecnologias digitais

Abstract

This research aimed to investigate the relationship between territory, education, and how individuals use internet-connected technologies. Using schools as a reference point that embodies the reality of a given region, we sought to understand whether and how the spatial organization of the city influences different types of people's engagement with the internet and how educational institutions are dealing with contemporary social demands, such as digital inclusion. Based on a documentary survey of the main public educational policies for digital inclusion and the markers of expansion of access to digital technologies and the internet in Brazil, we explored concepts of digital inclusion, digital literacy, territory effect, and spatial practices, synthesizing definitions of the terms in relation to social inclusion and considering the important role of schools in this process. From a methodological point of view, this is a qualitative and descriptive study, with field research conducted through a focus group with high school students from two public schools in the city of Uberlândia, MG.The research problem concerns the significant differences in the diversity of activities carried out online and offline by individuals from different territories/neighborhoods and how educational institutions develop pedagogical activities based on the use of digital technologies. The results of the study reveal that current digital inclusion programs seek to integrate different sectors of public management to achieve better results. However, there are concerns about the lack of clear regulations on privacy in digital educational platforms and public-private partnerships. In addition, empirical data show that, in practice, the discourse of these programs does not correspond to the realities experienced in the schools participating in the research. Regarding the territorial dimension, it was not possible to find evidence of the territory effect on educational opportunities and digital engagement. however, some written information about the municipality of Uberlândia, cross-referenced with the focus group reports, indicates that there is a correlation between the type of use of digital technologies and aspects of the territory, in which the lack of public leisure spaces and cultural programming in the city influences the excessive use of screens by young people.