Digital transformations in contemporary anthropology: culture, identity and health in the online environment

This paper investigates the reconfiguration of anthropological inquiry under the conditions of rapid digital expansion, focusing on the intersections between culture, identity and health. Rather than treating digitalization as a purely technological shift, the study frames it as a transformative social process that reshapes everyday practices, social relations and knowledge production.

The main objective is to critically examine how online environments generate new forms of cultural expression and identity negotiation, while simultaneously influencing health-related behaviors and access to medical knowledge. Drawing on a qualitative and interpretative approach, the research is grounded in the systematic thematic analysis of secondary sources, including peer-reviewed literature, policy reports and empirically documented case studies, informed by the principles of digital ethnography. Particular attention is given to the rise of digital health ecosystems, including telemedicine services, self-tracking applications and data-driven health practices, which challenge traditional boundaries between patients, practitioners and medical authority.

Digital environments function as hybrid socio-cultural spaces where technological infrastructures and human practices are deeply intertwined while simultaneously producing uneven outcomes that reflect and reinforce broader structural inequalities. These transformations raise significant ethical concerns regarding data privacy, inequality of access and the redefinition of trust in medical contexts. The paper argues that anthropology plays a crucial role in critically unpacking these dynamics, offering nuanced insights into how digitalization restructures both cultural meaning and healthcare practices.