Students' participation in social networks' conflicts (based on the materials of a sociological study of Barnaul universities)

Abstract

In the modern world, there is a significant number of collisions in the Internet space, which occur not only in interpersonal communication online, but also on various social networks with a large number of participants. Almost any social network that supports the function of discussion, commenting on the information provided, allows you to observe a number of pre-conflict and conflict situations. Despite the fact that the space in which communication takes place is virtual, the consequences of conflicts in it can be more than real, both for an individual and for a number of participants. Conflict situations can have an impact on the daily life of opponents and collectively affect social processes in society. In his work, the author studies in depth the nature of conflicts in social networks. The study was implemented through a quantitative method of collecting information – a survey in the form of a questionnaire. The general totality of the study was made up of students from Barnaul who are users of social networks. The study was conducted using a selective method. The sample totals 367 respondents. The sample size was determined by the capabilities of the researcher. A single-stage sampling was used, the selection unit was specific students. According to the results of the study, the following conclusions were made. Firstly, the vast majority of students use social networks every day, but only half of them have participated or are involved in conflicts. Secondly, students most often conflict on social networks with strangers and in community comments. Thirdly, trolling is still one of the important problems of social networks. A significant part of the (interviewed) students became victims of trolls. Fourth, most of the conflicts in social networks in which students participate are short-lived and occur through verbal debates. Fifth, most students choose a more "peaceful" behavior strategy. Sixth, many students determine the beginning of a conflict in a social network by negative emotions from interaction and consider the presence of physical distance to be the main feature of the described conflicts.