Affective and sexual sociability mediated by digital communication platforms among university students

• Grant number: 21/12639-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2022
• End date: March 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Social Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Eduardo Name Risk
• Grantee: Gledson Martins de Jesus
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Digital communication platforms mediate affective and sexual sociability relationships among university students. Studies show that the Covid-19 pandemic increased the number of users of these platforms, there was a significant increase in frequency and time invested in online sexual activities. The wide variety of options and experiences provided by these platforms have changed the affective-sexual relationships of this group. This research project aims to analyze how young university students of both sexes, heterosexual, and single, build their affective and sexual sociability mediated by digital communication platforms. This is an exploratory qualitative study based on the guidelines of the COREQ Guide. Twelve young university students will be selected, of both sexes, whose ages range from 18 to 24 years old, who declare themselves heterosexual, graduates in higher education, single (marital status). Data collection will consist of applying a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Brazilian Economic Classification Criteria (ABEP) and a Guide for conducting the focus group. It is estimated that four sessions/remote meetings (focus groups) will be held with the same participants based on a specific script. Each session/remote meeting will be recorded in audio and video and transcribed in full. The research protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee for Research in Human Beings (CEP) of UFSCar. Data analysis will be carried out from the association of two resources: (a) methodological steps proposed by Content Analysis in the thematic modality; (b) lexical analysis using the IRAMUTEQ software. Quantitative data will be analyzed in order to find simple statistical information describing the participating group. The collected material will be interpreted according to the theoretical framework adopted in the study.(AU)