Virtual identity as an integral phenomenon

The growing importance of the Internet stimulates people to spend more time on social networks, which makes relevant the study of virtual identity in virtual space. The majority of authors are focused on the description of the features of virtual identity. Therefore, its structure requires further investigation. Aim. The paper aims to identify the structure of virtual identity on social networks. Materials and methods. 285 persons aged from 18 to 72 years participated in the study, including 197 females (69.1%) and 88 males (30.9%). The Virtual Identity of Social Network Users test by D. Pogorelov and E. Rylskaya was used to identify the structure of virtual identity. Statistical processing was performed by means of descriptive statistics, factor analysis and Student’s t-test in the IBM SPSS Statistics v. 17.0 program. Results. It was found that the structure of virtual identity included such components as a virtual image, cyberaddiction, and subculture. These components are moderately correlated with each other, which demonstrates both the integral nature of the phenomenon and the unique character of its components. The intensity of structural components remains the same regardless of gender. However, there are some age-related differences. For example, users under 35 years old are characterized by significantly higher values of cyberaddiction and virtual image, which is associated with a more active Internet and social network usage, as well as specific socialization in the digital sphere. Conclusion. The structure of virtual identity consists of a virtual image, cyberaddiction, and subculture. Virtual identity is an integral phenomenon, which can be considered as an ego-identity that includes textual, visual and audio characteristics reflecting both physical and personal features. Virtual identity determines the integrity and equality of a person within social networks. The data obtained can be used in emerging research areas such as the psychology of information technologies, psychology of the Internet, cyberpsychology, and the psychology of cyberaddiction.