Deficientes on-line, ciborgues midiatizados

Abstract

The main purpose of this research is to investigate the ways in which people with disabilities, particularly quadriplegics and paraplegics, can incorporate the potential of the Internet, expand their communication skills and become what we call mediatized cyborgs. The case study method is the main methodological strategy articulating the problem, allowing us to understand in greater depth the reality and transformations experienced by people with physical disabilities to make use of online communication. Three people, who are not able to move their bodies and yet, through mice adapted to their physical conditions, are in constant and intense use of digital communication were chosen to represent the category of disabled people. To address the complexity of the problem, we conducted a construction which includes the context of the current scenario of society, covering the importance of the process of mediatization inserted in this space. We work with concepts and theories that emphasize the forms of construction of identities, the practice of citizenship and the appreciation and inclusion of people with disabilities in the media. The constitution of people with disabilities as part of mediatized cyborgs starts from the analysis of the fecundity relationship that the observed group sets with digital media, a fact which gives them unique extension possibilities, interactions, sociability and mobility. Research results allowed to confirm that important aspects of their social and cultural settings are intrinsic to its interaction with the internet. It was even possible to note that participation in the digital virtual world is an essential tool for people with severe physical disabilities to easily play their characteristics of creativity, autonomy, freedom and citizenship.