YOUTH CYBER SOCIALIZATION: A SOCIAL-PEDAGOGICAL APPROACH

Abstract

The emergence and development of information and communication technologies (ICT) have led to a modern human transformation in the sociocultural space. It’s a fact that, today being on the Internet (Network) has become an integral part of day-to-day reality and a kind of life of a great number of people. The correlation of the following terms mediasocialization and is discussed in the present article. The focus is on the process of cyber socialization, which is caused by the emergence of virtual space and arises as a new kind of socialization. It is analyzed defining characteristics of cybersocialization in the Internet, including advantages (distance learning, development courses, interactive communication with relatives and close people, as well as with representatives of other countries, etc.) and disadvantages (development of cyber dependency gambling, dependence on social networks, dating sites and others; the risk of becoming a victim of fraud and manipulation by abusers, and of illegal actions participant, hacking, cyberterrorism, etc.) that affect the social development of young people. It is also noted that the young generation does not have the protective qualities, skills and abilities to withstand the negative effects of cyberspace, and the older generation, in turn, does not have adequate social experience due to the absence of modern ICTs before. The psycho-age peculiarities of youth (the desire for independence and recognition, the desire to be at the center of events and change social reality, etc.), which encourage young people to be active and creative in the virtual space are noted. In particular, it is considered that the young generation can act as agents of cyberspace transformation at the expense of their determination and motivation to succeed. A socio-pedagogical approach is applied to analyze the features of the process of social development of youth in the virtual social space to determine the sectoral features of the cyber socialization interpretation of the concept, with the purpose of strengthening its positive social and educational influence, which aims to harmonize both the real and virtual social environment of the young generation with its help.