Abstract

The article presents a review and substantive analysis of socio-humanitarian studies devoted to virtual communication. The range of topical problems related to the spread of virtual communication is defined: the lack of a generally accepted understanding of the essence of virtual communication and, as a consequence, the lack of a single definition; the presence of a variety of inconsistent methodological approaches to its study; the growing number of highly specialized studies of virtual communication in psychology, sociology, pedagogy and others. An interdisciplinary criterion of differentiation of existing approaches to the analysis of virtual communication is proposed, the essence of which is to determine and identify the priority direction of the influence of virtual communication: on society or on the individual. We analyze the work on each of the directions, characterize the subjects of influence of virtual communication, and trace the results of this influence.