Advisor: Fernando Espósito
Defense date: 27/01/2020
Abstract
Within a perspective in which the digitization of habits is already a reality,
the research develops from the intention of investigating how these new cultural
practices tend to transform the experience of the city. In the contemporary world,
the constant flow of information is aimed at transforming our conception of society
and the structure of our relationships, thus changing the concepts of space and
everyday life linked to an idea of instantaneous time. They are what we can call
hypercity, where space is transformed as daily life is changed in an uninterrupted
way to meet this digital life. Based on a field research of ethnographic bias, acting
on the behaviors within the Rio subway, the main objective of this work is to
observe and discuss the effects of hypercity and the digitization of habits on the
perception and understanding of the everyday city. The specific objectives are (1)
to discuss some concepts related to the theme of technology in social restructuring
and its influence on the understanding of urban space and (2) to understand some
of these effects of digital daily life in Rio’s Metro, the selected case study. Thus, the
research not only proves and reinforces that the cell phone is the most used
technological device in the public space, but also allows us to affirm that it
conditions our experience and the way we observe the city. Contemporary life,
linked to this digital life, goes beyond the limit of physical presence with a
shortening of distances, with the aim of balancing life with the speed of everyday
digital.