Sexualidade digital na adolescência: uma análise cienciométrica das lacunas neurobiológicas e da mediação crítica do professor (2014-2024)

Abstract

Adolescence is a period of intense neural plasticity and reward system maturation, which coincides with an era of digital hyperconnectivity, reconfiguring the construction of sexuality. Early and unmediated exposure to sexualized content acts as a superstimulus to the developing brain, presenting behavioral and neurobiological risks. In this context, the teacher emerges as a fundamental critical mediator. This study aimed to map the global scientific production (2014-2024) on the intersection of adolescent sexuality, digital media, neurobiology, and education, through a quantitative and qualitative scientometric review. Data were collected from the Scopus and Web of Science databases and analyzed using VOSviewer software, supplemented by a content analysis of the most impactful articles. The scientometric results reveal an expanding field with profound imbalances: (1) a geographical hegemony of production in the Global North (led by the USA) and (2) an epistemological predominance in the fields of Medicine and Public Health, which frame the debate within a logic of risk. The most striking finding was the identification of a profound neurobiological gap: the literature studies digital behavior but neglects the adolescent brain that processes these stimuli. The qualitative analysis indicated the overcoming of "banking models" of education, highlighting effective pedagogical approaches such as critical media literacy, inclusive and queer pedagogies, as well as socioecological and decolonial approaches. The results indicate that the role of the teacher extends beyond the traditional function of content transmission, constituting a neuro-pedagogical intervention: their critical mediation contributes to the strengthening of executive functions, particularly the regulatory processes of the prefrontal cortex in the face of the hyperstimuli that activate the limbic system. In this regard, the CTSA approach (Science, Technology, Society, and Environment) is proposed as a pedagogical praxis capable of articulating the “micro” level, the neurobiological foundations of development, with the “macro” dynamics involving technology, culture, and social organization, thereby providing an integrated framework for a critical and contextualized sexual education