Enem 2025 focuses on generational differences, with the “text” of records and aging as essay themes

-This year’s Enem emphasized coexistence between ages and brought important reflections on aging and the role of generations in building society, said Alison Franco Abrantes, teacher at Sturt Anglo Bilingual School and St George’s.

For example, the theme of the editorial was “Perspectives on aging in Brazilian society.” And that very year, enrollment for those 60 and older was the highest since 2009, with more than 17,000 participants. A total of 3.5 million candidates took the Enem exam, with 27% of the 4.8 million registrants abstaining, the same rate as last year’s 26.6%.

The test cited phrases from Rita Lee (“Old age is not a disease; it is destiny”) and Fernanda Montenegro (“Old age is a period in which life has already been lived, and therefore can finally be seen head-on, without the panic of newness”).

Mirian Goldenberg, an anthropologist and professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), said the choice of this topic marks a milestone in raising awareness about the invisible presence of older people.

— I think it’s great that the topic of aging was suggested in a test conducted by students, mostly teenagers — he celebrates. — This shows how the problems facing older Brazilians are becoming more apparent than ever.

Various questions were also addressed on this topic. For example, the English test featured the “snowflake generation,” which Cambridge Dictionary says refers to a generation of young people who are “considered by some to be easily upset and angry.”

— This term, commonly used critically, refers to young people who are seen as more sensitive, less resilient or easily offended by different views — explains Renato Giudice, Director of Education and Innovation at the COC Education Platform. — Enem asks students to recognize cultural changes between generations.

This theme reappeared in the Spanish test, which used the BBC text to define Generation Alpha (those born after 2010) as a group no longer determined by “historical success” but by “screen usage.”

The text “From my own fist” by Minas Gerais writer Ana Elisa Ribeiro, published in the magazine Las Cunho, took up the entire first page of the language test, something unprecedented since 2009, depicting a new transformation between generations. In 45 lines and 2,863 characters, he playfully tells how handwriting became obsolete and was gradually replaced by technology.

“Writing and its amazing technology are repositioning themselves and repositioning themselves in an interesting and important cycle whose opportunities and effects can be seen in the light of the kind of diversity that we find everywhere,” the authors write in their book. This text served as the basis for the five questions. This is a recurring feature in older traditional entrance exams, but had never been used in Enem.

According to GLOBO research, no other Enem text exceeds 2,004 characters. The second largest was a 2010 editorial in the newspaper Folha de São Paulo, with 1,904 characters.

–This year’s text had line numbers, similar to the old entrance exam format. For Enem, that means a lot – says Ademar Celedônio, Director of Education and Educational Innovation at SAS Plataforma de Educação.

Questions also touched on current issues such as the mental health of Olympic medalists Leissa Leal and Rebecca Andrade, gender-based violence in schools, and the beauty pressures faced by actresses such as Barbie’s Margot Robbie and Paola Oliveira. The event also highlighted cultural diversity, featuring gospel dance, the languages ​​of the saints and orishas, ​​the medicinal use of annatto and Brazil’s first female chieftain.

On the eve of COP30, ecology emerged as a recurring theme. Sustainability, carbon footprint, the Cerrado’s fire monitoring system, and the use of clean energy were among the topics covered.

— Enem’s first day was a well-rounded test with extensive reading, but of medium difficulty. The series of questions remained uncontroversially focused on social, cultural, and linguistic themes. The reading required care and careful interpretation, says Zatian Hecht, a language teacher at Elite Rede de Encino.

Earlier in the evening, Education Minister Camilo Santana said he had minimized the abstention rate of a quarter of candidates, a stable level since 2022.

–Everything was so peaceful.