Virtual Construction of Social Reality Through New Medium-Internet

Abstract

This is a study on the creation of social reality in virtual setting such as chat/discussion/list groups, based on a theoretical framework of social and cultural reality. It was tried to be found how closer one can get to and create the reality in relation with others in virtual settings. It is a survey type study. For this, a virtually communicated group (45 persons) was selected and given a questionnaire in their natural virtual settings. The members were questioned on their socialization experiences. By the development of communication technology, not only new communication forms but also different interaction modes take place. The main characteristic of these interactions is the existence of long distance between the communicators, which is becoming a way of life in modern times. Traditionally, there exists a widespread belief that the communication technologies have replaced the traditional face-to-face communication, which in turn had limited the benefits of interactions. However, the exploratory findings of studies like this one suggest that this may not be the case. Therefore, further and more focused studies should be carried out to assess the real value of virtual communication settings.