Youth Media and Cultural Consumption in Social Media:

An Experience in Northeastern Brazil

Abstract

We discuss the media and cultural consumption of young people from cities far from metropolitan regions, specifically in the Northeast of Brazil. We understand that we are facing a context with particularities considering the convergence of the means and the conditions of access to ICTs. Through an ethnographic research, semi-structured interviews were conducted with young people from 18 to 24 years old from the Microregion of Propriá (SE), and then a content analysis was performed. Among the results, we could observe a gradual distancing of young people from the centrality of mass media, as opposed to an approximation of consumption via mobile devices. Access to social media was an important variable because young people operate a consumption focused on interaction with their networks; represent themselves in a context of great self-exposure; and do not deviate from the references of the regional culture they experience.