Abstrakt
The paper introduces a new subdiscipline of social and cultural anthropology - cyberanthropology. It briefly shows the roots of cyberanthropology, focuses on the issues, which cyberanthropology examines, and speaks about new methodological and theoretical problems.
New information-communication technology is changing societies and cultures, and is also creating a new terrain for anthropological research - the cyberspace. Cyberspace can be defined as computer-mediated contexts intrinsically connected to supposed-to-be "real" places.
The new terrain raises new methodological questions and issues. The paper also discusses the crucial role technology is playing in the cyberetnografic fieldwork.
Anthropologists discover new worlds and new cultures. In accordance with Actor Network Theory they study human and also non-human actors.
It is not only a study of cyberspace, but also a study of its relations to supposed-to-be "real" worlds. It is a hybrid anthropology that could be compared to a cyborg.