LINGUISTIC AND EXTRALINGUISTIC ASPECTS OF INTERNET COMMUNICATION: LANGUAGE TRANSFORMATIONS AND COGNITIVE CONSEQUENCES

Abstract

The article analyzes the psycholinguistic features of Internet communication in the context of its linguistic impact on individual and collective cognitive processes. The authors analyze the transformation of speech in the digital environment, which includes a combination of verbal, visual and emotional means of communication. They emphasize the dualistic nature of the Internet language – between oral and written, local and global, national and multilingual – which forms new language practices, reflecting socio-cultural changes. Particular attention is paid to the impact of such elements as emojis, gifs, memes, slang, and neologisms on cognitive perception, thinking, and emotional empathy. The article considers the impact of digital communication on cognitive processes, including the development of clip thinking, the ability to process large amounts of information, emotional perception, and changes in the structure of thinking. It is emphasized that Internet communication shapes new social practices, promotes the emergence of virtual communities, and changes the ways of self-identification, especially among young people. It is noted that the language of the Internet is not only a communication tool, but also a factor in the formation of new cognitive models that combine logical, visual and associative thinking. The researchers emphasize the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to the study of digital communication, since linguistic analysis allows to reveal the structure and features of virtual communication as a new linguistic reality, and psycholinguistic analysis reveals the deep mechanisms of language influence on the mind of a modern user. As a result, it is emphasized that Internet communication is becoming one of the most dynamic factors of linguistic evolution, which requires new approaches to its study and pedagogical comprehension in the context of digitalization of education and culture.