Ethnographic study of a hybrid group on-linel offline

Abstract

This research analyses the patterns of social interaction of a specific group of young people who play on-line games in a cybercafe in Barcelona. This group can be classified as a hybrid -on-line/off-line- since their face-to-face interaction alternates with, and is frequently superimposed on, their virtual interaction. This means that the delocalization that accompanies other uses of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) occurs only in a limited way. What does take place is a reinterpretation of the forms of social interaction of whatever group of young people; at the same time, there is also an interpretation of new information technologies, adapting them to traditional forms of socialization. It is possible to observe how physical place and cyberplace are united and intermingled in various ways, as are face-to-face life and cyber-experience.