Geografia do ciberespaço: o caso das sociabilidades otaku e cosplayers nas redes sociais virtuais

Abstract

Technological innovations provided new possibilities for social interactions. Globalization has brought significant changes with regard to the dissemination of cultures and new sociabilities. We thus perceive the multiplication of groups as unique symbolic communities, with specific ways of presenting themselves and relating to each other. As the geographic space is the stage of these social relations, it becomes necessary to understand how the revolution expanded social relations via cyberspace. These social relationships are established through a relationship between physical space and cyberspace, where both are related. One of the communities that most use these virtual spaces is the Otaku community. Consequently, this work sought to understand through virtual ethnography how cyberspace articulates Otaku sociability relations and some ways of collective sharing of its symbolic elements. Otakus and Cosplayers sociability pervade the daily life of multiple people who attend the groups, therefore creating a sense of belonging that is also present in physical spaces.