THE SOCIAL IMAGINARY OF PARENTS AND TECHNOLOGICAL MEDIATION IN LEARNING PROCESSES

Abstract

This essay analyzes how parents' social imaginaries influence the incorporation of smartphones into their children's learning processes, developing from an interpretive and hermeneutic perspective that prioritizes the cultural and symbolic dimension over mere technical functionality. Based on theoretical contributions from authors such as Castoriadis, Pintos, Cegarra, García, and Vuorikari, the essay addresses the social imaginary as a collective construction that guides practices, decisions, and attitudes toward technology. Tensions are identified between the cultural frameworks of school and family, derived from values, expectations, and experiences regarding the pedagogical use of cell phones, It is recognized that these imaginaries can act as obstacles or facilitators, depending on whether technology is conceived as a threat or an educational resource. The central objective is to explain how social imaginaries affect the relationship between technology and education within the family environment. This essay is based on an interpretive paradigm with a qualitative approach. The method used is hermeneutic the technique of collecting textual material information. Therefore, the text proposes overcoming the technocratic vision by creating spaces for dialogue between school and family, as well as critical digital literacy programs aimed at parents and teachers. It concludes that understanding and intervening in parental social imaginaries is key to reducing not only technical but also symbolic and cultural gaps. This implies democratizing access to digital culture, promoting family participation, and building a digital education that articulates pedagogical, technological, community, and personal knowledge.