Virtual Ethnicity – New Quality or New Decorations?

This article analyses the concept of “virtual ethnicity” and, as this phrase indicates, it concerns the relationship between the Internet and ethnicity. Rooted in sociology term “ethnicity” is juxtaposed here with the modern technology of the global network. The Internet and related applications are changing numerous aspects of our lives, both individually and collectively. The change this technology brings is radical. Digitalization and global connections aff ect every aspect of social life – everyday life, customs, politics, economics, interpersonal relations and ways of organizing social life. Social phenomena as we know them are being transformed; new ones are also being created, such as virtual communities uniting people who, without sharing a common territory, feel a strong bonds and are able to act together effectively. The above comments also apply to the phenomenon mentioned in the title of the article. This work analyses ethnicity expressed through online communication practices. Comparing offl ine and online ethnicity, the article notes the numerous positive functions of the Internet for articulation of ethnicity and raises questions about the defi nition and methods of examining online manifestations of ethnicity.