Social Interaction in Highrise : A Digital Ethnography of the Virtual Community
Interaksi Sosial dalam Highrise: Studi Etnografi Digital pada Komunitas Virtual
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30631/h9a7nc11Keywords:
Highrise, Digital Ethnography, Metaverse, Symbolic InteractionAbstract
This research is motivated by the emergence of social interactions in digital spaces that resemble real-life experiences. Along with technological advancements, online games such as Highrise Metaverse have become new platforms for building communities and communicating in real time. This study focuses on how social interactions that resemble reality are formed in the virtual world through the Highrise Metaverse, using George Herbert Mead’s Symbolic Interactionism approach. It not only explores interaction patterns among users but also the dynamics of the groups formed within it. Furthermore, this research examines how virtual identities are constructed using the Dramaturgy approach. This research uses a digital ethnography approach with participatory observation and in-depth interviews with active Highrise users. Mead's Symbolic Interactionism Theory and Erving Goffman's Dramaturgy were used to analyze the construction of identity, social symbols, and communication patterns. The results show that Highrise is not just an entertainment platform, but a social networking space with complex community dynamics. Moreover, the virtual space allows individuals to form new identities that different from those in real life. This study is expected expected to provide a new perspective on the reality formed in digital space.
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