The formation of the concept of digital space

Abstract

The aim of the study is to identify the characteristics of digital space at the contemporary, algorithmically mediated stage of its formation. The article traces the development of the concepts through which digital reality has been described: “cyberspace”, “virtual reality”, and “information space” are examined in terms of the aspects of the digital environment each of them captured, and the limits of their applicability are delineated. On this basis, the category of “digital space” is analyzed and four interrelated properties defining its specificity are identified: socially generated character, autonomy of its own regularities, reciprocal impact, and emergence. The scientific novelty of the study lies in developing an integrated characterization of digital space as a socially produced, technologically mediated, and algorithmically organized configuration of social reality, as well as in describing four properties of the architecture of the contemporary digital environment: preventiveness, personalization, processuality, and performativity. As a result, the study establishes that the limit of applicability of each preceding concept is set by the aspect of the digital environment on which that concept focuses, and becomes apparent once a different aspect turns decisive for the environment. It is shown that the combined operation of the properties of contemporary digital architecture generates a new type of digital inequality, arising from differences in the configurations of what is visible and accessible to users, and renders the boundaries of digital communities less stable and more permeable.