Education for Change in a Hyperconnected Society: When the Other is Virtualized

Abstract

Introduction. The hyper-information society does not involve or imply hyper‑knowledge, not even simple knowledge. The sensation of asphyxiation before the continuous bombardment of the otherness, which is not necessarily of the other or the others, makes the sentient person perceive that thinking demands an extra effort to discriminate the useful from the unnecessary. Objective. With this essay, we intend to reflect on the socio-personal elements of our current culture that question the educational task, demanding new answers but, above all, a return to the dialogical origins, since, more than ever, we feel surrounded without identifying, many times, who is or are surrounding us. Discussion. The information appears in an apparently free form, without apparent intentionality, without goals, and without a dialogical purpose. The face-to-face is blurred in virtual images without natural texture, representing something that satisfies and conforms to today’s consumer. The illusory takes shape and interacts like someone holding a fishing rod with its prey at the other end: waiting patiently, masterfully using the art of deception –knowledge–, knowing when to wait and not necessarily whom to wait for with a narrative sense. In the face of this, the importance of critical and conscious thinking are fundamental strategies to defend a principle of ontological reality. Conclusions. Education plays a decisive role in the network of the virtual because we are still talking about physical people and, especially, about education with a clear purpose of change for an entire life.