E agora, Josés? Juventude, cultura e consumo diante da crise ambiental

Abstract

The socio-environmental reality is demanded by situations that threaten the entire biological diversity of the planet, including the human being, who ironically is its main cause. We live in a society that is justified by consumer behavior in which “having” is worth more than “being”, where the business market takes its natural resources from the environment. Most of the time, such resources go beyond exports to produce and circulate these goods, causing dependence on consumption that by desire and not need, items are delegated to the comer as weak and useless after some uses. Therefore, the environmental crisis intensifies. It can be seen that this environmental issue also has a place in environmental education, which is still incipient in its interdisciplinary proposal. The population of this research are students from the sixth to the eighth grade of elementary school II, from the Arco-Íris Educational Center in the Bela Vista neighborhood, Fortaleza, Ceará. At the same time, the close relationship between youth and identity, or multiple identities, is analyzed. Furthermore, the consumer culture of this generation, known as Generation Z, was considered, and its power to dictate rules in all markets, whether technological, textile, accessories, games, and aesthetic products. Furthermore, it was considered and evidenced that Environmental Education would be a mediating solution for raising awareness in the face of this unrestrained consumption of young people. At the same time, Environmental Education functions as an instrument to encourage citizenship, preservation of natural resources, respect and care for biodiversity. Undoubtedly, this reaction may become indispensable in confronting the consumer culture clearly stimulated by the various groups or media that surround these young people.