Percepción de la aporofobia en redes sociales en estudiantes universitarios

Abstract

The research addresses the perception of aporophobia in social networks, focused on university students of the Faculty of Jurisprudence and Social Sciences of the Technical University of Ambato, the study approach was quantitative, using a self-authored questionnaire, carried through a process of validation of content and reliability, designed to measure five dimensions. In recent years, aporophobia has gained relevance in the social and academic sphere, highlighting the urgency of understanding its manifestation in digital environments, where hate speech towards people living in poverty finds a space of propagation, this phenomenon affects the social perception of poverty, reinforces negative stereotypes and generates emotional impacts on users exposed to this content. The results revealed that most students have an average perception of the phenomenon, recognizing aporophobic content in viral publications, but facing difficulty in identifying them in close interactions, which suggests a normalization of the discourse in these contexts, the participants showed sensitivity towards this type of content, although the concrete action to denounce or confront it is limited. In conclusion, the results show the need to generate educational and regulatory spaces that promote an understanding of aporophobia in social networks, promoting respect, inclusion and empathy in digital environments, and also highlight the importance of strategies that empower users to act against discriminatory discourses and contribute to building a more just and egalitarian society.