THE DANGERS OF A NON CRITICAL SOCIETY. TECHNOLOGICAL AND COMMUNICATIONAL CHANGES AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH CIVIC FORMATION

Abstract

The freedom of the human being, in terms of his independence and autonomy, is closely linked to a certain level of uncertainty, insecurity, and anxiety. These feelings can lead a person to look for answers in leaderships which can give him security, but also a lack of freedom. Certain leaderships call up their followers through symbols full of feelings, fears, and frustrations, defining in this way the antagonism between “them” and “us” and, therefore, the “enemies”. This paper presents a set of theoretical perspectives related to freedom and fears, which can affect human relations and its conflicts whether they are interpersonal or between groups of interest. This situation is more complex when the perception of reality is shown by superficial matters broadcasted according to their own interests and standpoints by the media. In addition to the daily use of the new technologies, this situation might be generating a progressive diminishing of people’s critical thinking and the ability to concentrate and creativeness of the individual and, therefore, of the citizen.

Keywords

• Ciudadanía
• pensamiento crítico
• capacidades intelectuales
• medios de comunicación masiva.