Registering “textão” and aging as the theme of the essay, Enem 2025 focuses on generational differences

— This year, Enem highlighted the coexistence of ages and brought up an important idea about aging and the role of generations in building society,” said Alison Franco Abrantes, teacher at Start Anglo Bilingual School and St. George’s School.

For example, the topic of the editorial was “Perspectives on Aging in Brazilian Society.” That year in particular, the number of people over 60 registered was the highest since 2009, with more than 17,000 participants. In total, 3.5 million candidates participated in the elections, which recorded an abstention rate of 27% out of 4.8 million registered – a rate similar to last year, when the abstention rate reached 26.6%.

As supporting text, the test cited phrases by Rita Lee (“Old age is not a disease. It is fate”) and Fernanda Montenegro (“Old age is the time when we have actually lived life and, therefore, can finally look at it head on, without the panic of modernity”).

In the assessment of anthropologist and professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) Merian Goldenberg, the choice of topic is a milestone in raising awareness about the disappearance of the elderly.

— I think it’s great that the test taken by the students, most of them teenagers, suggests a topic about aging — and he’s celebrating. – This shows how the problems faced by older Brazilians are becoming more apparent than ever.

Various questions also addressed the topic. The English test, for example, dealt with the “snowflake generation” – which, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, is a way of referring to a generation of young people “whom some people regard as very easily upset and offended”.

– This term is commonly used critically, and refers to young people who are perceived as more sensitive, less flexible or who are easily offended by divergent points of view – explains Renato Giudice, Director of Teaching and Innovation at the COC Educational Platform. — Enem asks students to identify cultural changes between generations.

The topic came up again in the Spanish test, which used a BBC text to define Generation Alpha – those born from 2010 onwards – as a group defined by “screen use”, rather than by their “historical successes”.

The text “From My Own Grip,” by Ana Elisa Ribeiro in Minas Gerais, published in Rasconho magazine, occupied the entire front page of the language test – something unprecedented since 2009 – and depicts another generational shift. In 45 lines and 2,863 characters, it humorously narrates how handwriting became obsolete and was gradually replaced by technology.

The writer says in her work: “Writing and its amazing techniques reposition it, and change its place, in an interesting and important circle that can be seen in the light of a certain diversity that finds its opportunities and effects, here and there.” The text served as the basis for five questions – a recurring feature in older traditional entrance examinations, but never used in EINEM.

A survey by GLOBO shows that no other Enem text exceeds two thousand characters – the second largest appeared in 2010, in the editorial of the newspaper “Folha de S. Paulo”, with 1,904 characters.

– This year’s text even had numbered lines, similar to the format of ancient entrance exams. It’s huge for Enem, said Ademar Celedonio, director of teaching and educational innovations at SAS Plataforma de Educação.

Questions also addressed current issues, such as the mental health of Olympic medalists Risa Leal and Rebecca Andrade, gender-based violence in schools and the beauty pressure experienced by actresses such as Margot Robbie, of “Barbie,” and Paola Oliveira. The event also highlighted cultural diversity through texts on gospel dance, the language of saints and oricas, as well as the medicinal use of the annatto plant and Brazil’s first female leader.

On the eve of COP30, the environment emerged as a recurring theme. Sustainability, CO2 emissions, Cerrado fire monitoring systems and clean energy use were addressed.

— The first day of Enem provided balanced tests with extensive reading, but at an average level of difficulty. The set of questions maintained the focus on social, cultural and linguistic axes without controversy. The readings require careful attention and interpretation, said Thatian Hecht, a language teacher at Elite Rede de Ensino.

Earlier in the evening, Education Minister Camilo Santana downplayed the abstention rate of a quarter of candidates, a level that has been stable since 2022:

– Everything was very quiet.