Generation Z and prohibitions in digital and social environments

Abstract

This article examines the ways in which Generation Z students perceive and reinterpret prohibitions in today's digital environments, particularly those associated with algorithmic moderation, content regulation, and visibility restrictions. The objective of the study is to understand the relationship between these control systems and the communication practices of young people, as well as their relationship to the construction of digital identity and communicative citizenship. The research was carried out using a non-experimental, cross-sectional, mixed-method design that combines a survey of young people aged 18 to 25 with interviews with teachers and researchers specializing in digital communication. The results show that young people routinely experience access limitations, opaque content moderation criteria, and self-censorship processes, which affect their modes of participation, expression, and digital self-care. It is concluded that digital prohibitions not only operate as regulatory mechanisms, but also shape practices of agency, identity negotiation, and communicative self-regulation.