Digitalism: The New Realism?

Today's society is increasingly digitalised, with mobile smartphones being routinely carried and used by a significant percentage of the population. This provides an augmented experience for the individual that does not depend on their geographical separation with respect to their community of friends and other contacts. This changes the nature of relationships between people. Individuals may live in a “digital bubble„, close to others physically, but far away from them in their digital world. More specifically, digital images can be generated and shared with ever greater ease. Sometimes the digital image takes on an important part of the individual's experience of reality. This paper explores examples of the phenomenon, within the context of the arts in particular and culture in general. We also consider the assortment of terms used in a variety of ways by researchers in different fields with regard to our ever more digital society, such as digitalism, digitality, digitalisation, digital culture, digital philosophy, etc. We survey these terms, exploring them from alternative viewpoints, including sociological and philosophical aspects, and attempt to pinpoint some of these terms more precisely, especially in a cultural and artistic context.