Sociological theories of space have so far not provided an in-depth analysis of online spaces. The paper addresses this issue by means of Löw’s relational theory of space. As this theory mainly focuses on material spaces, it is necessary to embrace the phenomenological perspective in order to apply it to the virtual realm. More recent phenomenological research has highlighted the ongoing mediatization or virtualization of the life-world. These theories, and presence research more generally, are useful for examining the layers of virtual presence. This paper focuses on two emblematic types of spaces: multiplayer online role-playing games and Skype video chats. The first represents an online version of a Schutzian finite province of meaning, while Skyping is an example of how the paramount reality of everyday life expands into the virtual realm. Albeit differently, actors in both cases constitute hybrid, virtual-material spaces with various forms and degrees of virtual presence. User experiences in these spaces are in line with contemporary sociological diagnoses indicating the vanishing experience of living in space and the general tendency of late modernity to question previous social forms of modernity.

中文翻译：

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在线空间的现象学：解释晚期现代空间

迄今为止，空间的社会学理论尚未对在线空间进行深入分析。本文通过 Löw 的空间关系理论解决了这个问题。由于该理论主要关注物质空间，因此有必要采用现象学的观点将其应用于虚拟领域。最近的现象学研究强调了生活世界正在进行的媒介化或虚拟化。这些理论，以及更普遍的存在研究，对于检查虚拟存在的层次很有用。本文重点介绍两种具有象征意义的空间类型：多人在线角色扮演游戏和 Skype 视频聊天。第一个代表了 Schutzian 有限意义领域的在线版本，而 Skype 则是日常生活中至高无上的现实如何扩展到虚拟领域的一个例子。尽管不同，在这两种情况下，演员都构成了具有各种形式和程度的虚拟存在的混合虚拟材料空间。这些空间中的用户体验与当代社会学诊断一致，表明生活在空间中的经验正在消失，以及晚期现代性质疑以前现代性社会形式的普遍趋势。