Semiotics of Distances in Virtual and Augmented Environments

Abstract

The interpretations of communication practices technologically mediated by immersive devices insist on the theme of distance to highlight prototypical aspects of mediation, from the rarefaction of enunciative and referential distance, to that which leads to the solipsistic isolation of the user behind a screen. Tracing the semantic articulation of these interpretations, the contribution intends to place particular emphasis on the media of virtual and augmented reality, and on how they remedy the concept of distance by investing it in new meaning. In particular, we will focus on the illusory cancellation of the distance that occurs during an immersive experience and the establishment of a critical distance in the user, linked to the emergence of a meta experiential competence, by means of the installation of an interstitial device such as the prosthesis and the interface.