‘Not Us, the Youth!’ ICT Adoption and Generational Expectations in the Cultural Trajectory of the Guaraní

• In Event: ICA Plenary Interactive Paper/Poster Session III
  In Interactive Paper Session: Lifespan Communication Theme Interactive Paper Session

Abstract

This paper explores the intercultural relation between globally produced communication technologies and indigenous communicative ecologies. We argue that the underlying structure of communication technologies contain cultural (and capitalist) biases based on their ownership and production. As such, the communicative practices that ICTs reinforce—in addition to the audiovisual contents they circulate—are an important research area within indigenous contexts. We develop an analysis of the position of ICTs within the cultural trajectory of 12 Guarani communities in southeast Bolivia, paying particular attention to generational roles and expectations.

Author

• Sarah Wagner, Internet Interdisciplinary Institute, Open University of Catalonia