Asmens tapatybė ir bendruomeniškumas pasaulinio tinklo pinklėse
LTŠioje mokslo monografijoje dėmesys sutelkiamas visų pirma į tapatybės ir bendruomeniškumo reiškinių tarpusavio sąsajas ir reikšmingas šių ryšių transformacijas šiuolaikiniame pasaulyje. Pabrėžtina, kad individualios tapatybės santykis su bendruomenine yra dvilypis: iš vienos pusės, žmogaus savivokai labai svarbu, su kokiomis bendruomenėmis jis save tapatina; iš kitos pusės, individualiai jausenai svarbu ir tai, kaip asmuo išskiria save iš kitų bendruomenės narių. Tad pirmasis monografijos skyrius gvildena tapatybės problematiką socialiniuose moksluose, aptariant tiek tradicinę jos konceptualizaciją, tiek šiandieninės socialinės tikrovės keliamus iššūkius, ypatingą dėmesį skiriant kokybiškai naujos virtualaus bendravimo aplinkos įtaką asmens savikūrai. Antrajame skyriuje dėmesys sutelkiamas į bendruomeniškumo klausimą, apžvelgiant naujai besirandančias socialinės komunikacijos erdves bei jose besimezgančias naujas bendruomeniškumo ar pseudobendruomeniškumo formas.Skaitmeninių komunikacijos technologijų plėtra sudarė prielaidas rastis ir žaibiškai išpopuliarino naujus, dažnai patogesnius ir pigesnius tarpasmeninio bendravimo būdus, sukurdamos visiškai naujo tipo socialumo erdves. Siekiant adekvačiai suvokti šias gilias permainas, vykstančias vis labiau medijuotame pasaulyje, būtina atsižvelgti į iš esmės besikeičiančią bendruomenės sampratą, kuri praranda anksčiau esminę teritorinio artumo savybę. Trečiajame skyriuje reziumuojami moderniųjų technologijų pasaulyje tapatybei ir bendruomenei kylantys iššūkiai bei galimybės socialinei teorijai atliepti šiems pokyčiams, ieškant naujų tapatybės konsolidacijos orientyrų bei šiuolaikinių bendruomenių telkimosi ašių. Pastaruoju metu įsigalinčios asmens tapatybės kaip fragmentiško, situacinio ir lakaus darinio sampratos stokoja šios tapatybės konsoliduojančių principų konceptualizavimo - lieka neaišku, kas nuolatinio kismo socialinėje aplinkoje ją saugo nuo patologinės dezintegracijos. Šioje tarpdisciplininėje studijoje formuluojama tapatybės kaip nepaliaujamo vertybinio savęs įprasminimo proceso koncepcija leidžia atsakyti į šiuolaikinio besifragmentuojančio pasaulio keliamus iššūkius, neprarandant esminio tapatybės sampratos dėmens - nuoseklaus vidinio tapatumo pačiam sau. [Iš Įvado]
ENTo orient oneself in both the physical and social world, we need certain reference points, guidelines that help us to position oneself and our movements in relation to the surrounding environment - without such guidelines our survival would simply be impossible. For instance, it is proved experimentally that human being cannot bear the absolute silence even for an hour since the elimination of sensorial landmarks makes balancing and maneuvering extremely difficult, which causes huge stress for human body leading even to hallucinations and panic attacks. While it is not known exactly why sound is so important for self-localization, what processes occur in the human body when this landmark is lost, it is not in doubt that it is very significant. Similarly, in complete darkness, with no reference points to help determine their environmental position, people lose their sense of the trajectory of movement - thinking that they are going straight, they are actually moving in circles. Scientists still do not have a clear answer as to why this is happening, but agree on one thing: human orientation in space requires certain reference points that allow them to constantly 'recalibrate' as they move. Suppose, in an open ocean that has no landmarks perceivable by a human, one uses celestial bodies as his guides because without them a person risks to loose a sense of place and not to reach the final destination. Since human being is a social animal, similar guidelines are needed to smoothly maneuver in the social environment as well. They are related to such questions as who I am from my own perspective, from the perspective of those around me and my community members, what is my role in the community, and so on.An important point of reference for person's being and acting in the social world is his or her identity which helps one to assess own location with regard to other members of one's community as well as to other communities, to set out goals, to choose the direction and pattern of action, etc. Even though it remains unclear how identity affects human attitudes, daily routines, and fundamental life choices, its importance is not questioned. Moreover, the importance of identity as the basis for perceiving oneself and surrounding environment increases incredibly in the contemporary world of rapid change, where other previously significant reference points lose their importance or disappear altogether. Recently there has been much debate about whether the internet, in creating new forms of communication and culture, becomes a powerful tool in the formation of individual identity. The internet is important not only as a new channel of socialization that allows people to communicate those who otherwise would be unreachable (while at the same time widening the experience of social variety), but also as an excellent new space for interaction, where formed identity is supported and re-created. It seems that electronic communication creates a new dimension of personal identity. It is this that encouraged a new wave of identity analysis in sociological research in the late 20th century. One can confidently say that we live in the society undergoing substantial cultural changes in which computer technology has become part of everyday life, but there is still lack of standards, norms and rules of how to use them. In other words, the culture of interpersonal communication in the new platforms still is at its embryonic stage.The present study raises questions what is interpersonal communication, when it is accomplished through the digital mass media? How does it affect the self-awareness and self-presentation of communication participants? And are the users of modern communication technology sufficiently aware of the communication features when compared to the traditional interpersonal communication? A much-debated question in sociological and psychological literature is whether the experience of virtual communication creates a new quality in the process of identity formation and whether virtual groups and communities can become a source of identity for its members. These discussions emphasize the importance of individual choice. A s is observed, the Internet, unlike earlier modes of communication, does not provide people with a clear path, but instead requires a certain dimension of personal choice and creativity. Therefore, the Internet is open to the constant restructuring of information and new symbolic implications. At the same time, it provides users with the ability to appear and disappear in a number of spaces, times, social roles, characters, etc. Therein lies the issue - how does one manage not to lose oneself in this abundance of choices? Although the concept of personal identity is considered as one of the most significant 'discoveries' in social sciences, it has never been clearly defined. Commonly, identity is associated with certain self-concept, or self-understanding. However, identity creation never happens in social isolation. Rather, this process is multi-layered: identity establishes as self-understanding which develops in human interactions taking place in the context of certain social structures and cultural norms. [...]. [From the publication]
