Іnformation and communication technologies and the formation of social and existential experience: the space of metaphor

Abstract

The relevance of this study is determined by the rapid digitalisation of contemporary society, within which information and communication technologies profoundly reshape the ways human experience is formed and lived. Under these conditions, particular significance is attributed to the symbolic mechanisms that enable the integration of technological reality into the structure of everyday life. Metaphor emerges as a key instrument of such mediation, as it allows novel, complex, and abstract phenomena to become accessible for interpretation, communication, and practical engagement. The methodological framework combines a phenomenological approach, oriented towards the analysis of the lifeworld as a horizon of experience, with principles derived from conceptual metaphor theory and the tradition of philosophical anthropology. This integration makes it possible to treat metaphor not merely as a linguistic or cognitive structure, but as an element actively involved in the constitution of reality, shaping modes of perception and interpretation. The interdisciplinary perspective facilitates an examination of metaphor across multiple dimensions, from individual experience to broader social and cultural practices. The aim of the article is to articulate the role of metaphor as a mediator between the technological environment and human experience, and to identify its functions in the transformation of the lifeworld under the conditions of expanding information and communication technologies. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which metaphorical models structure representations of digital reality, organise patterns of interaction with it, and influence communicative processes in contemporary society. The scientific novelty lies in the conceptualisation of metaphor as a space in which cognitive, communicative, and ontological dimensions of experience intersect. Within this framework, metaphor is interpreted not only as a representational tool but as a dynamic structure that organises human engagement with the digital environment. Additional emphasis is placed on the multimodal nature of contemporary metaphors, which operate across linguistic, visual, and interface-based forms, thereby shaping specific regimes of perception and action. The findings highlight metaphor as a central element in the construction of experience in the digital age. Its functioning determines interpretative frameworks, structures symbolic communication, and contributes to the ongoing transformation of the lifeworld. In this regard, the metaphorical space can be understood as a dynamic environment in which reality is continuously reconfigured, opening new perspectives for further research into the interrelation between language, technology, and human existence.