This is where semiotics comes in! Semiotics deal with the study of language and signs and meanings. Language on its own already develops in very wild ways, and semiotics are used to grasp meaning, examine branching thoughts, and whatnot. The internet especially has such a fast-changing cultural landscape, and to quote a video game character, "they live and die by the meme." (Specifically I mean memetics, but for the internet, memes is also applicable.)

All this to say that cosplay can really connect the gaps left in the spaces between the real world and the digital one, therefore allowing a level of communication. By simply existing, a cosplayer is a walking, talking sign- a sign that here is someone who loved something enough to take it into the real world with them. It signals to others who recognize them that "hello! I'm here in the world! It's good to see you!". And with the depersonalization that happens on the internet, it's good to get a reminder that people on the internet... are people, at the end of the day. So often are we reminded that cosplay is, at the end of the day, a very niche hobby, within its own niche hobby. But if a real life person wearing their favorite character's clothes can remind someone to be kind, that they're not alone; that even if there are many reasons to sink into the background, there's someone out there who can grasp the courage to be the main character of their own story.