Symbolic consumption and representation of self: a study of interactions in a virtual community of Ubuntu-Br users

El consumo simbólico y la representación del self: un estudio de las interacciones en una comunidad virtual de usuarios Ubuntu-Br

Abstract

This study aims to explain how the symbolic consumption of the Ubuntu operating system is used for the representation of self in interactions in the Ubuntu virtual community from Brazil. We adopted the Goffmanian concept of self, the netnography of communication as the research method, and case study as a research strategy. The paralinguistic, the extralinguistic, and the definition of “I” are aspects used in virtual interactions. They have the linguistic function of corroborating and praising the statements of migration of Windows users to Ubuntu, emphasizing the distinctive features of the concept of Ubuntu, highlighting its expression of shared feelings of love and freedom, as ways of projecting the self of humanity to each other. In the case of the operating system, this characteristic is represented through the provision of support among users at the forum of the virtual community.

Keywords:
Symbolic Consumption; Self; Netnography of Communication; Virtual Communities; Ubuntu