The Psychology of Growing Up in the Digital World. Orientation and More

Abstract

The article explores the significance of A. V. Zaporozhets’s creativity for understanding the trends of growing up in a changing world. Contemporary society poses new challenges for both psychological science and young people. These challenges include the transitivity, variability, and uncertainty of the world, as well as the multiplicity of contexts for growing up in the digital environment. It is argued that one of A. V. Zaporozhets’s most important findings was the concept of orienting action. The materials of his research on orientation remain relevant for both cognitive and personal development and socialization in the modern world. The most significant materials which were worked out by Zaporozhets and his colleagues are revealed. The aspects of orientation and the stages of its development in children which, in modified form, remain relevant today are highlighted. The article describes the characteristics of orientation in children interacting with gadgets, as well as the changing image of objects that facilitate their differentiation and manipulation. The role of orientation in the information flow, which is one of the leading factors of socialization in the modern world, is revealed. In the article it analyzes how gadgets and AI contribute to the development of adequate orientation in a complex world, including the internet. It demonstrates the influence of orientation actions in the development of creativity in adolescence and young adulthood. It explores the characteristics of emotional attitude to the AI and gadgets in communication with them, as well as changes in social media interactions and the transmission and dissemination of behavioral standards, particularly self-assessment and attitudes toward risky behavior. It concludes that the works of A. V. Zaporozhets and his colleagues in studying living action and orientation in its formation remain relevant in the new context of cognitive and personal development of the younger generation.