Hyperreality

theoretical concept in sociology

thumb|Nightscape in Chongqing, China. Artificial landscapes and "city lights at night" were some of the first metaphors used by the genre for cyberspace (in [[Neuromancer, by William Gibson).]]

form of society

historical period

forms of media native to computers, computational, relying on computers for redistribution; e.g. telephones, computers, virtual worlds, website games, human-computer interface, computer animation, interactive computer installations

any media encoded in machine-readable formats

computer-based simulated environment populated by many users who can create a personal avatar, and simultaneously and independently explore the virtual world, participate in its activities and communicate with others

thumb | right | alt=alt=Refer to caption | Area Cartogram: Internet Users in East Asia, 2008 The term netizen is a portmanteau of the English words internet and citizen, as in a "citizen of the net" or "net citizen." It describes a person actively involved in online communities or the Internet in general.

conspiracy theory about the World Wide Web

thumb|Image of a real apple (left), and plastic food model apple (right). The fake apple is a simulacrum. A simulacrum (: simulacra or simulacrums, from Latin simulacrum, meaning "likeness, semblance") is a representation or imitation of a person or thing. The word was first recorded in the English language in the late 16th century, used to describe a representation, such as a statue or a painting, especially of a god. By the late 19th century, it had gathered a secondary association of inferiority: an image without the substance or qualities of the original. Literary critic Fredric Jameson of

hypothesis that reality could be a computer simulation

mass news media that influence many people

Hyperreality is a concept in post-structuralism that refers to the process of the evolution of notions of reality, leading to a cultural state of confusion between signs and symbols invented to stand in for reality, and direct perceptions of consensus reality. Hyperreality is seen as a condition in which, because of the compression of perceptions of reality in culture and media, what is generally regarded as real and what is understood as fiction are seamlessly blended together in experiences so that there is no longer any clear distinction between where one ends and the other begins.

Metamodernism (from meta-, in reference to metaxy, and modernism) is the term for a cultural discourse and paradigm that has emerged after postmodernism. It refers to new forms of contemporary art and theory that respond to modernism and postmodernism and integrate aspects of both together. Metamodernism reflects an oscillation between, or synthesis of, different "cultural logics" such as modern idealism and postmodern skepticism, modern sincerity and postmodern irony, and other seemingly opposed concepts.

phrase separating reality from fiction or social media

perception of being physically present in a non-physical world

related to the social, political, economic and cultural changes caused by the spread of networked, digital information and communications technologies

event created for publicity

In social psychology, superficiality refers to a lack of depth in relationships, conversation and analysis. The principle of "superficiality versus depth" is said to have pervaded Western culture since at least the time of Plato. Social psychology considers that in everyday life, social processing veers between superficiality and a deeper form of processing.

thought experiment about a machine that provides any pleasurable experience one wants