Distances and Avoidance: Teachers Confronted with Their Visibility on the Internet

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/2450-4491.21.10

Keywords:

teachers, visibility, virtual social networks, personal uses of digital technology, pedagogical relationship, distance

Abstract

The article begins by exploring the concept of distance, particularly within the sociology of education as discussed by Émile Durkheim, Pierre Bourdieu, and François Dubet. The notion of distance is thus problematized, enabling an analysis of the strategies employed by teachers who, by having virtual profiles on social networks, protect their personal lives and visibility outside of the school environment. The article uses an online forum to gather empirical data, specifically identifying teachers who accept former students on their personal pages and those who accept current students in a restricted manner, allowing limited interaction. These individual approaches provide some evidence of the moral norms that weigh on teachers, who engage in these private spaces in a negative manner, through avoidance rituals, to maintain an idealized image of their professional role.

Author Biography

Tiago Ribeiro Santos, Université de Lorraine, France

Tiago Ribeiro Santos – contract lecturer-researcher (ATER) at the University of Lorraine, conducting research on school socialization and on phenomena related to relational closeness and professional distance. Faculty of Sports Sciences in Nancy. Department of the Henri-Poincaré Archives (UMR 7117); tiago.ribeiro-santos@univ-lorraine.fr

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Published

2025-12-19

How to Cite

Santos, T. R. (2025). Distances and Avoidance: Teachers Confronted with Their Visibility on the Internet. Nauki O Wychowaniu. Studia Interdyscyplinarne, 21(2), 142–157. https://doi.org/10.18778/2450-4491.21.10