To navigate is to fantasize: virtual relations and psychoanalysis

Abstract

In order to reflect upon social relationships in contemporary society, it is indispensable to rely on relationships settled in network virtual environments. Indeed, these represent the most popular kind of social bonding in present days, especially due to its unique online dimension. This article studies relationships settled through virtual communities, especially taking them in the light of psychoanalytic theories of fantasy and psychic reality. We privilege researching a number of fake profiles present in Orkut, a social network site, which offered us plentiful substance to support our thesis.