VIRTUAL REALITY AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF SOCIOCULTURAL PRACTICES IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY

Abstract

The article provides a comprehensive socio-philosophical analysis of the phenomenon of virtual reality in the context of the transformation of sociocultural practices within the information society. The main theoretical approaches to understanding virtual reality are generalized, and the evolution of its interpretation is traced from a technologically constructed digital environment to an independent sociocultural phenomenon that influences communication processes, socialization, and cultural production.
The study analyzes the relationship between the development of the information society and the spread of virtual forms of social interaction. It is demonstrated that virtual reality is gradually becoming an important space for the production of social meanings, within which new models of communication, mechanisms of social integration, and forms of collective interaction are formed.
The peculiarities of the functioning of virtual communities as new social formations capable of reproducing the fundamental characteristics of traditional social systems are examined. The influence of the digital environment on the processes of personal and social identity formation is revealed, and the role of virtual communications in transforming the mechanisms of socialization of modern individuals is characterized.
Special attention is paid to the analysis of Jean Baudrillard’s concepts of simulacra and hyperreality as a theoretical framework for studying the processes of cultural virtualization. It is substantiated that under the conditions of the information society, symbolic and informational constructions increasingly participate in the social construction of reality, shaping new modes of world perception and cultural experience.
The main characteristics of virtual culture are identified, including interactivity, hypertextuality, network-based communication, openness to continuous renewal, and a high level of symbolic production. It is concluded that virtual reality is not an alternative to social reality but a new form of its functioning within digital civilization, simultaneously creating new opportunities for social development and generating new sociocultural challenges.