Volodymyr Vdovichenko VIRTUAL INTIMACY: CONTENT ANALYSIS OF RESPONSES FROM A SOCIONOMIC PROFILE

(2026) Science and education, 3, 29-37. Odessa.

DOI:https://doi.org/10.24195/2414-4665-2026-3-3

Volodymyr Vdovichenko,
Postgraduate Student,
The State Institution “South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University
named after K. D. Ushynsky”,
26, Staroportofrankivska Str., Odesa, Ukraine,
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4734-9645

 

VIRTUAL INTIMACY: CONTENT ANALYSIS OF RESPONSES FROM A SOCIONOMIC PROFILE

SUMMARY:

The article clarifies the concept of virtual intimacy as a psychologically significant form of closeness that emerges and is maintained through digitally mediated interaction. The relevance of the study is related to the fact that the digital environment increasingly becomes a space not only for information exchange, but also for self-disclosure, support, trust, friendship, romantic relationships and the experience of another person’s presence. At the same time, such interaction involves risks of selective selfpresentation, idealization of the partner, deficit of nonverbal signals, privacy violations and dependence on online attention. The aim of the article is to theoretically clarify and empirically specify the concept of virtual intimacy based on content analysis of written responses from students and specialists of a socionomic profile. The study involved 33 respondents aged from 19 to 48 years. The empirical material consisted of anonymized written responses to the question about understanding virtual intimacy and the peculiarities of its manifestation. The research used theoretical analysis, generalization, systematization of scientific sources and quantitative-qualitative content analysis. As a result, 30 units of analysis were identified. The most frequent categories were communication in digital space, closeness, exchange of personally meaningful content, self-disclosure, absence of physical co-presence, long-distance relationships and a constructed online image. The article proposes a working definition of virtual intimacy as a subjectively experienced, emotionally significant form of psychological closeness maintained through digital communication, self-disclosure, trust, support and a symbolic sense of the other person’s presence.

KEYWORDS:

virtual intimacy, psychological closeness, digital environment, self-disclosure, trust, social support, digital self-presentation, online communication, content analysis

FULL TEXT:

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