Publication
Title
Autism and social media : the case of Brazil
Author
Abstract
This paper presents an overview of how social media is used by Brazilian autism communities, aiming at including the perspectives of the Global South into discussions surrounding the topic, which are mostly focusing on English speaking groups. The results are based on a digital ethnography conducted in three Facebook groups about autism. We observed that groups composed by parents looking for information and social support are predominant in Brazilian social media. Autistic people also engage in information gathering and the exchange of personal experiences, mainly the ones with Asperger Syndrome. Additionally, we saw that Facebook offers enough affordances to allow the participation of people with different levels of digital literacy. However, there is still a lack of representation from autistic people who have more challenges, such as non-verbal individuals, which may be a consequence of the digital divide, not only in terms of economical means, but also education and inclusion.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Observatorio (OBS*)
Publication
2018
ISSN
1646-5954
DOI
10.15847/OBSOBS12420181298
Volume/pages
12 :4 (2018) , p. 1-12
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
VABB-SHW
Record
Identifier
Creation 27.11.2018
Last edited 07.10.2022
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