“Imbecilization” in the disinformation society: what can information literacy do about it?

Résumé 0

The article discusses some points about the current state of disinformation in information processes, especially in the media context. Globalization and its constant movement, of a socially asymmetrical and separatist nature, drives collective discrepancies and opens the way for what it has been called collective “imbecilization.” At this juncture, the wide-open phenomenon of disinformation in society results in excessive manipulation and distortion of information. Therefore, this discussion presents, through a bibliographic survey, the urgency of information literacy development - whose assumption consists of lifelong learning - aimed at the informational dysfunction present in the postmodern societies. Such development is denoted as a form of remediation and not the absolute eradication of the problem, since it is essential to preserve critical and self-critical thinking in order to reduce and control the quality of the information consumed and shared. It is then asserted that efforts to combat the so-called imbecilization and informational dysfunction need to occur in different spheres of social life, and involve the multidisciplinary fusion of technology, education, culture, economics and politics.