Sanal Kültür: Yanılsama Mı, Gerçeklik Mi?
Cyber Culture: Illusion or Reality?

Summary/Abstract: The internet, which is the world’s largest computer network, has spread at such a rate that no other technology could reach up until now and has affected every aspect of our lives. New communication technologies after the 1980’s were the addressed in most of the theories that have been developed to analyse economic and social changes after these years. In current world, the ideas that the opportunities provided by new communication technologies to people leads to a democratic and emancipatory social transformation at society by making changes the quality of the knowledge and communication, are dominant. In the first part of the study the idea that new communication technologies, especially internet, paving the way of the knowledge society and the idea that internet as a democratic public sphere are discussed. Most studies in the field indicate that people spend more and more time in this environment, try to meet their real life necessities, and they prefer to live by rebuilding a new world for themselves. Sometimes it is even observed that the border between the virtual and the real world appears to blur. It is possible to speak about a virtual culture as an alternative to real culture with the prevelance of social media and invasion of internet every area of our lives with its positive/negative aspects. For best understanding of today’s societies, the nature of online communities and behaviours of the people in the internet should be examined to become clear with all dimensions. In the second part of the study firstly, the features that make attractive participating to internet tried to be presented. Secondly, the effects of the cyber culture over the individual identities and the society are tried to be discussed.

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