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A PERSON ON THE WEB: LONELINESS AND COMMUNICATION // ΠΡΑΞΗMΑ. Journal of Visual Semiotics. 2022. Issue 4 (34). P. 63-81

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the problem of human loneliness in the modern world is more relevant than ever. Restrictions on movement and quarantines have become an obstacle to direct communication. The threat of infection has become a factor in the spread of the “loneliness pandemic”. Communication between people through high-speed communication technologies has become the most appropriate way to maintain working and other relations. The status of online communication has changed. Online communication has become a complementary one. Through the development of high-speed communications, a person has created virtual reality, which has become an alternative to a natural one. Online communication is virtual communication, not surreal. Online communication allows a person to compensate for the negative consequences of their loneliness in conditions of limitation or impossibility of offline communications. The authors of the article analyze the possibilities of compensatory communication in the online format. The essence of compensatory communication lies in the fact that it allows a person to overcome loneliness, form new social skills, and realize opportunities for self-development. The philosophical view of communication is revealed based on the antinomic approach. The antinomic approach presents communication as unity and separation at the same time. The authors argue that communication is a prerequisite for a full-fledged human being. Online communications allow communication to overcome various restrictions, such as border closures, isolation, quarantine. An important type of online communication is the communication of gamers in the virtual universes of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs). EVE Online is an example of such a game. Gamers engage in real interaction in the virtual world of the game. The virtual worlds of games become proving grounds for the development and preservation of social skills. EVE Online’s audience is people who came to the virtual world for real communication. Joint gaming activities compensate for the communication gap between gamers. They have a joint existential experience, so communication of interests transforms into overcompensation. Establishing trusting relationships contributes to gamers’ de-anonymization. Partnerships and friendships that started online go beyond the virtual world of the game into the real world. The authors of the article conclude that loneliness can be overcome to a large extent with the help of online communications, provided that such communications are authentic.

Keywords: Internet, online communications, compensatory communication, latent loneliness, gamer, digital reality, personal identity, massively multiplayer online game (MMO), EVE Online