Source: own elaboration.
As part of the systematic construction process, the count of articles related to the study topic reached
a peak of 646,017 research papers, which were subjected to a set of criteria categorized as follows: I)
Keywords from any of the concepts derived from DeCS II) Meta-analyses and non-experimental
descriptive studies conducted on adolescents III) Inclusion in databases of indexed articles. Of the total
unfiltered number, a reduction of more than 90% was achieved, with only 7 fully complying with the
variables set out. In addition, a filter of no more than five (5) years old (2018-2023) was used, which, as
the categorization was applied, significantly reduced the initial total.
Based on the data and information obtained from the systematic review, the theoretical-conceptual
results point to a description that starts from the cognitive process influenced by ICT in adolescents,
providing an evaluation based on the results of the analyses carried out by the authors, as well as the
reliability of use in this study.
Of the seven studies characterized, the process of contributing to the entire study is permeated with
cognitive evidence of the influence of technologies on adolescent thinking, in such a way that it shows
the pure interest of its researchers in addressing this issue from an educational perspective.
In this sense, the theoretical-conceptual realization leads to the understanding that technologies have
traditionally been used as conveyors of information, communicators of knowledge, or tutors for
students (Rodrigues et al., 2022). In the field of educational communications, it is based on the premise
that communicating content to students will result in learning (Morales et al., 2022; Vásquez et al.,
2022). In educational communications, information or intelligence (in many different forms) is encoded
visually or verbally in the symbol systems employed by each technology. During the "instruction"
process, students perceive the messages encoded in the medium and, at some point, "interact" with
the technology (Muchiut et al., 2021). Interaction is typically implemented in terms of student input to
the technology, which triggers some form of response evaluation and technology response in the form
of some pre-coded (canned) message (Restrepo et al., 2019). Technologies as transmitters of
information have been used for centuries to "teach" students by presenting them with prescribed
information that they are required to "learn."
Historically, educational communications have been developed and marketed to teachers by teams of
educators, including instructional designers, subject matter specialists, media producers, and media
managers (Vergel et al., 2021). Educational programs are designed using a variety of systematic
instructional design models that have been recommended by experimental research based on very
Western notions of causality and determinism (more on this later). This systematic process embodies
the very definition of the field (Zabala et al., 2018). It holds that we can accurately predict the behavior
and learning outcomes of organisms as complex as human learners. In this short article, I argue that
these assumptions should be questioned, first for empirical reasons and second for philosophical
reasons (Salcedo et al., 2022).
The first is easy: the overwhelming majority of unpublished research and the simple majority of
published research in our field, in which we have used technology as transmitters or knowledge, have
not produced "significant differences" (Abela & Pérez, 2011; Freré et al., 2022c) in learning as a result
of their interventions. Why? Because we cannot accurately predict the behavior of complex organisms.
Based solely on this empirical criterion, we should rethink the use of technology as a mediator of
learning (Cordoba & Monsalve, 2021).
The second reason is philosophical. It is understood that the learning process is holistic. It cannot be
understood simply by analyzing human responses to the attributes of the technologies that convey the
messages to be learned. In fact, it is difficult, if not impossible, to isolate the effects of the possibilities
LATAM Revista Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, Asunción, Paraguay.
ISSN en línea: 2789-3855, marzo, 2026, Volumen VII, Número 2 p 665.
