Małomiasteczkowa tożsamość w cyfrowym świecie

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven that migration to cyberspace became a necessity in many aspects of social life. While facilitating communication, the Internet has also (or perhaps above all) enforced significant changes in the public sphere which is the foundation of liberal democracy. How does this relate to where we live? Can we still speak of the centre–periphery division in today’s network society? This article seeks to analyse the transformation of the public sphere in the context of small-town identity. Until recently, the place of birth and address determined not only one’s financial status and career opportunities but also access to participation in the public sphere. However, with the advancement of the Internet and the rise of social media, the previously marginalised identities have gained recognition. The latter also applies to people living in the peripheries. While social media have demystified small-town life (Small-Town Syndrome, or ‘small-townedness’), providing it with a positive dimension and subjectivity, they have not (as of yet) managed to entirely negate the geographical space.