THE CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY AND VALUES IN LOCAL, NATIONAL AND VIRTUAL SPACE

Abstract

The article reveals the study of the contemporary meaning of identity and values in local and national dimensions, as well as their analysis in the context of the virtual reality, constructed during the last decades. On the basis of theoretical background, historical analogies and practical examples, the author shows the influence of values on the identity formation, focuses on the problem of the erosion of traditional and the formation of new identities. If to compare conditions of Ukrainian national identity constructing with those western European peoples, which were formed as nations at their own state borders, Ukrainian national identity was shaped in imagined by Ukrainians space. Institutional differences in the creation of the first Ukrainian political organizations in Lviv and Kyiv clearly represent a very important component — divided by the border between two empires Ukrainians were constantly connected by the idea of their unity. The historical context and the unfinished cycle of independent formation of Ukrainian national and socio-political identitys strengthen the need to create a socio-cultural identity on the basis of an archetypal approach.

The article also represents contemporary challenges, which Ukrainian state faces in conditions of hybrid warfare and which are provoked by the manipulation of information and stereotypes. Incorporating concrete examples, the author shows how stereotypes influence on one’s own behavior and estimation of any phenomenon; determine the limits of personal choices. At the same time virtual space changes image of oneself, self-identity and the community which a person identifies “the Self” with. From one point of view, virtual reality opens huge amount of possibilities for personal self-realization, from another, it can be a source for manipulations of information in the individual, state or international levels.