Interplay between Law and Virtualization of Modern Society in Relation to Population Ageing

Human rights law was born and has developed in the so-called Western world, and it is only in the legal systems that belong to that realm that it truly continues to be implemented. Virtualization of modern-day society, which started to transpire in the past decade and a half, originated from the Western world as well. It was there that all hardware technologies and software applications have been developed. However, the societies that form the Western world also suffer from strong ageing trends. These trends are challenging long-term viability of social insurance, pension and health systems. Many aspects of virtualization represent a response to the diminishing pool of human resources. Virtualization, however, is dehumanizing by its very nature. Not only is it alienating older individuals, who are not proficient in accessing the virtual realities, it is profoundly modifying the formation of children and adolescents. In the paper, an attempt is made to form a synthetic view on whether the values forming the core of human rights law are suitable to be regarded as a firm limitation on certain tendencies of societal virtualization, what would be a reasonably expected outcome if such limitation would have become effective, as well as what would be needed, at conceptual and/or policy level, to make them effective.