The role of mass media in the formation of the ethnic identity of students in the context of the infodemia

Abstract

The relevance of the study is due to the need for a deeper understanding of the factors that influence the formation of ethnic identity of modern youth. Most scientists agree that ethnic identity is formed mainly spontaneously, in the process of primary socialization of the individual, but this process is subject to the same spontaneous influences throughout the entire period of growing up. The mass media and the Internet space are the most powerful factors influencing modern people, including in the sphere of forming ideas about their ethnic group, its traditions and culture. The article presents the results of an empirical study conducted at the Don State Technical University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia, with a total sample of 100 people. Authors revealed significant differences in the psychological characteristics of students with different types of ethnic identity: hypo-identity, normal identity and hyper-identity. It was also revealed that the media is one of the factors in the formation of negative types of ethnic identity: students with hypoidenticity and hyperidenticity mainly receive information about other ethnic groups from media sources; students with normal identity receive such information in the family or from the close environment. Further research will be aimed at studying the information behavior of students with different types of ethnic identity, which will allow us to develop recommendations for preventing the spread of destructive forms of behavior on the Internet.