VIRTUALIZATION AND VIRTUAL REALITY: PHILOSOPHICAL-ANTHROPOLOGICAL DIMENSION

Abstract

Modern processes of digitalization taking place in people’s lives are causing a rapid transition of their activities into a virtual form in various spheres of society. The article carries out a philosophical analysis of the sociopsychological consequences of virtualization, the impact of the latest forms of virtual alienation on the personality. The purpose of the article is to study the impact of virtual reality on human existence, on the transformation of forms of alienation of modern man, and on the psychological features of the interaction of the individual with the virtual environment. The research methodology is based on a number of methodological approaches: discursive analysis – to study the concepts of “simulacrum/hyperreality”; phenomenological – to understand the impact of virtualization processes on humans, on forms of social communication and the experience of derealization; comparative and criticalanalytical – to study the “digital divide/inequality”), characteristics of forms of virtual alienation, as well as general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, generalization and analogy. Conclusions and prospects for further research. The theoretical, methodological, conceptual, and praxeological foundations of the information society are considered in the context of its virtualization and anthropological dimensions.It is substantiated that virtual space is gradually integrated into everyday life, forming new models of communication, social participation, and identification. It has been established that virtualization as a multifaceted phenomenon has a significant impact on a person and his or her existence, forms of social interaction, the formation of identity, and distorts the perception of reality, generating new forms of social alienation. It is argued that for an increasing number of people, virtual space and virtual reality are becoming more important and meaningful than physical (real) space and physical reality. It has been proven that psycho-emotional states caused by being in digital space affect personal well-being, increase anxiety, loneliness, and escape from reality, becoming forms of modern alienation – from oneself, others, and the real world.