Metaphors of digital identity

The article analyzes the notion of digital identity and its reflection in English with the help of metaphors as a mirror of real life in the world of digital technologies. Digital transformation of modern society leads to emergence of multiple and mosaic social net identities that rarely coincide with identities in the real world. Metaphor is treated as a cognitive tool, which constructs new meanings and makes perception of the digital world easier. The authors underline the fact that some metaphors of digital identity have practically become fundamental terms while others develop dynamically, transform and expand their meaning. The basic research method is an adapted method of semantic differential, which allows building the categorical structure of the semantic space of digital identity, correlating it with metaphors. As a result of the given research, metaphors of digital identity are classified into 4 semantic categories: 1) digital habitus and digital technologies, 2) digital residents, 3) feelings and emotions in the digital world, 4) actions in the digital world. The most productive structural patterns of metaphor creation are composite metaphors, compounding, blending, conversion, and affixation.