Comunidades de deficientes físicos no Orkut: em busca de uma sociabilidade inclusiva na era digital

Abstract

Our aim in this research is to identify new social configurations that emerged from the digital media, specifically the Orkut. We try to understand how the physically disabled people use this instrument to get to socialize and belong to a group. For this purpose, we mapped the communities of physically disabled people in the Orkut and identified their uses, beyond interviewing members of these communities. We noticed that, in the communities that are specifically for disabled people, they expose their disabilities as a symbol of belonging, in a different way of the mixed interactions. The people who get to know each other in those communities don t socialize only in that specific space, but they maintain contact in other virtual and physical spaces. We also noticed that the main interest of the members of those communities is to get to know other people, so they can have relationships, using that virtual space as a connector, where they can explore the other s profile and expose themselves. This way of using the community is an alternative to the gap that exists in the cities, that don t offer many opportunities of meeting. Meanwhile, the virtual world offers this possibility with easy access.