Vivere nella società virtuale: nuovi imminenti scenari per le relazioni sociali

This research forms part of a broader study on immersive platforms, with particular focus on the developments of the metaverse. Here, we address one of the many critical dimensions of the «immersive» experience – a major achievement that is at once technological, cognitive, sensorial, communicative, relational, moral, and also (or perhaps primarily) commercial. After outlining the issues related to the relationship between reality and its representation, the opportunities and challenges of simulation, and the role of sensoriality in shaping one’s sense of presence, we proceed to build a conceptual framework for defining the future (and partly already present) environment of interpersonal interactions. Technology does not necessarily herald a post-human vision of reality.