THE PROBLEM OF PERSONALITY TRANSFORMATION IN THE MODERN INFORMATION SPACE

Abstract

The purpose of the article is a comprehensive analysis of the problem of personality alienation in cyberspace of the information society, aimed at identifying such behavioral aspects of personality that would indicate the presence of traits, qualities, or criteria of Internet addiction or the likelihood of their occurrence. The methodology of the study was general and special methods of studying the issue, the use of which allowed achieving this goal. The set of applied methods made it possible to clarify the logical sequence, the plurality of areas of influence of the information society on the individual, and the further transformation. The main principle was historicism, which involves the consideration of any phenomenon in its self-development under the influence of various factors. The historical-structural method is used to clarify the features of self-identification in the information society. The historical-system method is aimed at analyzing society as a whole and the changes within it caused by transformational processes. Quantitative methods were used to process the results of sociological surveys and questionnaires, as well as to diagnose the process under study. The scientific novelty of the study is the expansion of ideas about the issue of alienation of an individual in the modern information space. Thanks to a sociological study conducted by the authors, it was hypothesized that Internet addiction can occur not only in adolescence but also the middle-aged people can get into the conditions of transformation of their personality. Conclusions. The beginning of the XXI century was marked by the emergence of the phenomenon of complex psychosocial relations between the individual and the information environment that surrounds him. The extraordinary opportunities that a computer gives to a person, on the one hand, open up a boundless field for creativity, and on the other hand, create and consolidate alienation between people, dramatically change basic values, ideals, and evaluations. The transformation of the individual in the modern information society demonstrates the decline of spirituality, the technicalization of life, and the transfer of priorities to the virtual environment.

Keywords: information society, virtual reality, cyberspace, problem of alienation, transformation of personality, Internet addiction.