Tecnologia e interações na Amazônia paraense: um estudo com jovens da ilha de Murutucu – Belém/PA

Abstract

This research aims to examine the ways that interactions are established and mediated by smartphones among young islanders of Murutucu, located in the city of Belem, state of Pará, living in a reality marked by the transition between urban and rural in the Amazon of Pará. Listening to the young people, we conducted a qualitative study, consisting of direct observations, interviews and semi-structured questionnaires, involving issues related to communicative interactions (GOFFMAN, 2012), contemplated in three analytical levels: sociocultural, spatio-temporal and technological. The routine of the components of this study unfolds between Murutucu and Belém, where they have to travel daily in order to study, acquiring that way different spatio-temporal perceptions and news forms of sociabilities (SIMMEL, 2006). This way, the young people studied are framed in the category covering the new ruralities (CARNEIRO, 2012) that can be translated from the junction of elements present in the local culture and the incorporation of new habits and techniques. Murutucu has particular dynamics in its context: it is intersected by so-called holes; it does not have streets that connect their homes or have play areas that integrate the local youngsters. In this context, access to the Internet, facilitated with the use of smartphones, acquires a fundamental role in the interactions woven by the young population, because this device allows an informational mobility that is not limited by physical mobility. The smartphone, with its omnipresent, portable and mobile features inserts the youngsters of Murutucu in a larger mobility and is understood as a form of media coverage, which sets diverse uses. However, the use of technological devices and the consequent expansion of forms of interaction did not result in a loss of the bond of the young people with the inhabited place. The local island of this research is considered owner of essential elements of the way of life of the young people, such as security, tranquility and silence, revealing an intense sense of belonging to the place of origin. For the subjects that make up this research, the technology is seen as a redeeming truth that brings salvation, maintaining their interpersonal relationships; however, it is not used to reverberate existing problems in Murutucu who do not have access to services that meet the basic human needs such as education, health, water and sanitation system. The smartphone is relationed by the interviewed as a mean of communication and transposes the limitations present in the territory of the island. This way, the youth usually interact in a wide form in the virtual environment.