SOCIAL NETWORKS AS A SYMBOLIC SPACE OF GAME INTERACTION
Abstract
The article presents a philosophical and semiotic analysis of social networks as a symbolic space in which users’ interaction acquires the features of play. The meaning of signs is analyzed in the context of the gamification of the digital environment.
Charles Sanders Peirce’s approach has been used to analyze the symbolic dimension of interaction between users of social networks, which makes it possible to interpret elements of the digital interface as signs that acquire meaning in the process of interpretation. Social networks are represented as a semiosphere in which each user simultaneously acts as both a creator and an interpreter of signs.
The concepts of Homo Ludens by Johan Huizinga and the typology of play by Roger Caillois are used in order to describe the role of play in social networks. Drawing on these ideas, gamified elements of interaction can be seen between users of social networks. Processes of play are used both in direct communication within the social network environment and through symbolic interactions (likes, shares, etc.). The algorithm that promotes users’ publications is seen as a form of gambling that stimulates strategic behavior. This process transforms content publication into a risk game with reward in the form of numerical values. Views and likes are interpreted as a form of Pierre Bourdieu’s symbolic capital. These indicators function as a specific «digital currency» that can be converted into social, cultural and economic capital.
Digital identity within social networks is analyzed through Sherry Turkle’s idea of «The Second Self». A user profile is seen as a structure of signs that functions as a representation of the individual in digital space. Such symbolic elements as the avatar and nickname work as components of this constructed image. Therefore, it is not a person who interacts with the virtual world, but rather its constructed representation. Using this theory more widely, the space of social networks is a symbolic reflection of the real world, within which the interaction is happening between digital images of real individuals.
Downloads
References
Glushko, A. V. (2017). Gaming techniques in the format of network infotainment. Collected Scientific Works of the Faculty of Vasyl' Stus Donetsk National University. http://jpvs.donnu.edu.ua/article/view/3685 (In Ukrainian)
Kovalenko, V. (2025). Digital personality as a new form of subject in American philosophy. Bulletin of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Philosophy, 1(12), 70–74. https://doi.org/10.17721/2523-4064.2025/12-11/23 (In Ukrainian)
Ali, S., Wang, D., Hussain, T., & Li, B. (2023). The impact of virtual society on social capital formation: A comparative analysis of Facebook and WhatsApp. SAGE Open, 13(4). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231210077
Aslam, M., & Ain, Q. (2023). Social media and reality: Are social media profiles a true representation of people's lives? ResearchGate (preprint). DOI: https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.11367.01449
Back, M. D., von der Heiden, J., Vazire, S., Gaddis, S., Schmukle, S. C., Egloff, B., & Gosling, S. D. (2010). Facebook profiles reflect actual personality, not self-idealization. Psychological Science, 21, 372–374. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797609360756
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258). Greenwood Press
Caillois, R. (1961). Man, play, and games, Trans M. Barash. Free Press of Glencoe
El Yazidi, R., Amrani, M., & Mousdil, S. (2022). The presentation of the self in the digital world: Does Erving Goffman’s social interaction theory hold up? NeuroQuantology, 20(15), 6956–6965. DOI: https://doi.org/10.48047/nq.2022.20.15.NQ88697
El Yazidi, R. (2024). Exploring the components of digital identity on social network sites: Identifier, post, profile photo, and selfie. European Scientific Journal, 20(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2024.v20n1p1
Huizinga, J. (1949). Homo Ludens Ils 86 (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315824161
Merchant, G. (2006). Identity, social networks and online communication. E-Learning, 3(2), P. 235–242. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2304/elea.2006.3.2.235
Peirce, C. S. (1992). The Essential Peirce, Volume 2: Selected Philosophical Writings (1893–1913). N. Houser & C. J. W. Kloesel, Eds. Indiana University Press
Turkle, S. (2005). The second self: Computers and the human spirit (20th anniversary ed.). MIT Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/6115.001.0001
Voinea, C., Marin, L., & Vică, C. (2024). Digital slot machines: Social media platforms as attentional scaffolds. Topoi, 43, 685–695. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11245-024-10031-0
Zelenin, V. (2024). The role of social networks in shaping the identity and self-realisation of young people. Amazonia Investiga, 13(84), 291–303. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2024.84.12.19
Copyright (c) 2026 Іван Гончаренко
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication of this work under the terms of a license Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
3.gif){kind=logo}
