SOCIAL MEDIA AS A NEW INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE FOR COMMUNICATION

Abstract

The role of social media in modern communications is difficult to underestimate: from interpersonal correspondence, user-generated content quickly spilled over into a sociocultural phenomenon. On the one hand, we can talk about expanding the possibilities of using the global network, and on the other hand, and this is fundamental, social media have become an independent means of mass communication, with much more multifunctional tools for “getting” into the core of the target audience. The purpose of the article is to reveal the phenomenon of computer-mediated communication of young people through the use of social media and identify their functions. Based on the results of the questionnaire survey "Internet communication as a factor in the formation of the information culture of a new generation of young people", a hypothesis was put forward that social media claim the position of a universal ecosystem. The institutionalization of social networks provides for the structuring of social practices, while the criterion for institutionalization is their structural variability (a global service system in which it is possible to satisfy scientific, educational, sociocultural, consumer and other needs). The closed ecosystem of social media, developing a targeted approach to the demonstration of user content, largely controls the mind, shaping both creative and conformist behavior, giving birth to a new generation of people – generation social young. Modern youth, based on survey data, has prioritized all mediated communication in social networks, linking the online space with everyday life. The new - "digital" generation has moved the usual social practices to social networks, institutionalizing them. In addition to informal communication, social networks have become one of the main channels of interaction between a teacher and a student, despite the fact that correspondence through personal pages is not welcomed by the administration of educational institutions for several reasons. Formally, such communication remains outside the system of corporate communications and can be easily removed or become destructive. On the other hand, chatting creates a feeling of friendly communication, which often contributes to the development of trusting relationships and has a positive effect on the learning process. The article attempts to scientifically comprehend social media from the point of view of the usual practices of youth communication in social networks and their new institutional structure. The identified and described functions of social media ("Communication", "Consolidation", "Replication of content", "State", "Finding", "Establishing contacts", "Image") probably contribute to the development of theoretical sociological foundations for studying the phenomenon of institutionalization of social media.