CC BY
30
UDC 8:82-92
DOI 10.24147/2413-6182.2022.9(2). 2 74-284
ISSN 2413-6182 eISSN 2658-4867
SOCIAL MEDIA AS AN INTEGRAL ELEMENT OF MODERN COMMUNICATION
L.B. Temnikova1, A.V. Vandisheva2
Kuban State Technological University (Krasnodar, Russia)
2
Abstract: The authors of the article considered the main problems associated with the activities of people in the information space. In this work, it becomes obvious that the characteristic features of the modern information society are global informatization and computerization, the dominance of the Internet and social networks in the exchange of information. Moreover, it is quite obvious that social networks have become an integral part of modern life, and today it is impossible to imagine communication and the development of a person's creative potential without them. The new type of online interaction has marked a fundamentally different situation, when configurations of group communication have replaced traditional linear communications. In online communication, users, as well as in offline everyday life, devote more time to private, domestic interests and hobbies, rather than socially significant issues. Depending on the conditions of communication, content on social networks can be either written, written-visual or visual. Today, information on social media is increasingly represented using visual images, although initially the Internet was not. According to numerous studies, it became known that the majority of users publish photos without text or shorten it to two sentences.
Key words: information society, media environment, social networks, communication, content, platform, status, audience.
For citation:
Temnikova, L.B., Vandisheva, A.V. (2022), Social media as an integral element of modern communication. Communication Studies (Russia), Vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 274284. DOI: 10.24147/2413-6182.2022.9(2).274-284.
About the authors:
1 Temnikova, Lina Borisovna, PhD, Head of the English Language Department № 1
2 Vandisheva, Anna Valentinovna, PhD, Head of the English Language Department № 2
Corresponding authors:
12 Postal address: 2, Moscovskaya ul., Krasnodar, 350072, Russia
© A.E. TeMHUKoea, A.B. BaHdbtweea, 2022
1 E-mail: temnikova-lina@mail.ru
2 E-mail: anna_valentino@mail.ru Received: October 26, 2021
Revised: December 13, 2021 Accepted: March 24, 2022
Introduction
An integral part of the information society culture and the activities of people to create material and spiritual values of culture today is the creation and exchange of information. The characteristic features of the modern information society are global informatization and computerization, the dominance of the Internet and social networks in the exchange of information.
The history of the Internet as a socio-cultural phenomenon that affects society is still young, insufficiently studied and described. Today we live in a world completely captured by the media - a complex set of structures, where each structure has its own way of communication. G.M. Mcluhan considered the concept of media as a means of communication, including not only its verbal capabilities, such as spoken, written, printed speech and visual messages, but also the sphere of fashion products, cinema, etc. [Mcluhan 2003: 153]. Referring to the term "media", we are talking about means of communication and the exchange of information of various types, ranging from the most ancient, such as sign language or cave painting, to the most relevant and modern, which now hold the entire information space - the Internet, social networks and blogs.
Social media has become an essential part of modern life. Today, without them, it is impossible to imagine communication and the development of a person's creative potential. Their formation began a long time ago, and now researchers are proving the effectiveness of social networks as an effective tool for shaping public opinion.
These days, in everyday communication, a person uses a variety of media, among which the Internet has become a universal platform for posting and exchanging various types of information. In its development, the Internet has acquired the features of a social system consisting of many "virtual worlds" that unite in different communities based on common interests, values or some event. To designate the new situation M. Kastells introduced the concept of "network space", where there is an exchange of different types of resources or flows of information, technologies, capital, organizational interaction, images [Kastells 2004: 300].
For the networked media environment, a key feature has become the need to share with someone interesting news, seen or heard in real time "here and now." Therefore, in the space of social media synchronicity is important, there is nothing deferred, this is the reality of current time, where everyone interacts with each other in real time. The new type of online interaction has
marked a fundamentally different situation, when configurations of group communication have replaced traditional linear communications.
If at the very beginning of its development the Internet was perceived as a special "cyberspace", distant from everyday life, then with the simplification of use, the Internet became not only a part of everyday communications, but also began to independently reproduce the basis of everyday interactions. Modern social media allows the user not so much to concentrate on information as to be involved in the communication practices of everyday life. The organization of social networks involves the use of various kinds of constructs of everyday knowledge for both online communication and offline communication. The network structure of the Internet has formed such forms of behavior as community and networking, which have become everyday, social and professional practices, allowing, with the help of a friends round and acquaintances, to solve everyday tasks: from finding a home, kindergarten, work to promoting a business.
The branching and selectable organization of social networks allows each participant to expand the boundaries of stable ties and relationships, where any person at any time can choose or find a partner, start or break off a contact that has become burdensome. The new structure of relations led to the development of "weak ties", the rallying of distant, formally familiar people, and therefore to the expansion of the space and intensity of the processes of everyday communication. In other words, social media has transformed the traditional day-to-day communication based on the «near-far» opposition. Increased communication capabilities allow the user to be connected with the "distant", while giving rise to the illusion of a "near world", where nothing is really distant, but not close either.
Description of material and research methods
To describe the problem, it is necessary to turn to modern discussions about the nature and specifics of social media, in which two opposing points of view have emerged. An important feature of the new media is their ability to represent a variety of points of view and life positions, that is, to create different models of the social. According to the first position, presented in the works of foreign researchers A. Sullivan, K. Shirky, social media were considered as a new multipolar environment, egalitarian in nature, without a single center, clearly defined boundaries and a hierarchical "top", a new independent arena for discussions, where the logic of development is the active and free cooperation of users [Berezin 2003: 25].
According to another point of view, social networks, being a kind of filter and information selector, do not create either new content or new assessments, but only redistribute and process information. So, according to L. Gud-kov, "social networks are the renewal in a technologically new form of old mechanisms of social communication", with their own opinion leaders and the
reproduction of those mass sentiments that are characteristic of society as a whole [Berezin 2003: 30]. Analyzing the content of the pages of ordinary Russian users, the researchers note that about half of them use social networks for communication, shopping and entertainment, as well as, more likely, for "disseminating existing information than creating new". Thus, in online communication, users, as well as in offline everyday life, devote more time to private, domestic interests and hobbies, rather than socially significant issues. The focus is on the "world of evidence", sometimes meaningless events - a landscape seen or a meeting with friends - can become a topic for discussion. There is a fragmentation of the "agenda", in which the private, the private begins to prevail over the public, pushing out important and pressing social problems from the sphere of network cooperation. Skeptically assessing the impact of the Internet on society, D. Lanier in his manifesto "You are not a gadget" stated that social networks, focusing on the speed of creation and consumption of content, instead of creativity, encourage superficial judgments. Indeed, social networks are increasingly becoming a platform for constructing the standards and values of mass media culture, hierarchical features are more and more clearly manifested in them, their own "stars" are born here, which account for a huge number of appeals and comments. Thus, the reorientation of Internet communication into the area of private interests has turned social networks "into an endless series of parallel universes, each of which closes the user in a" personality loop". In other words, the polycentricity and variability of individual communications enhances not only the atomization of individual communities, but, in fact, debunks the liberal myth about the blogosphere as a place for the formation of spontaneous democracy and independent communities.
D. Golynko-Wolfson sees the reason for the "paradox of an empty public sphere" in the fact that Russian social networks immerse the user "in the entertainment environment of image strategies and role-playing games", "impose the cult of comfortable consumption of information goods and services, carefree" repressive hedonism ". Indeed, with the widespread adoption of social media, advertising and marketing strategies are being introduced into the public space, in which consumer values and practices acquire a social dimension. Thanks to new photo and video hosting services, users can instantly visualize their consumer preferences, share with friends what they bought, watched, where they traveled. The representation of these practices in social media symbolizes the expansion of the influence of new forms of marketing (partisan, viral, trust] on the user's life [Golynko-Vol'fson 2009: 103].
Discussion
Now let's look at what type of content social networks produce. Depending on the conditions of communication, content on social networks can be either written, written-visual or visual. Today, information on social media is increasingly being represented through visual images. Although initially, ac-
cording to the authoritative researcher M. Bal, "the Internet was not visual at all, for the most part". Its distinctive feature is the hypertextual structure, represented by such textual categories as nonlinearity, interactivity, openness. Therefore, the visuality of the Internet, from the point of view of M. Bal, cannot be postulated as primary, which rather makes the Internet akin to the discreteness of images of screen culture. But, in our opinion, a more accurate definition of media is the position of W. Mitchell, who claims that all media, including new ones, are "mixed".
As noted earlier, information in social networks is increasingly presented with the help of visual images. This can be seen by considering the well-known Instagram network.
According to the Brand Analytics analytical agency (a system for monitoring and analyzing social media and media], Instagram retained its first place in Russia in terms of active audience. The number of active authors in the social network in October 2021 amounted to 38.1 million authors. Which is slightly lower than last year - 42.8 million authors.
Instagram has proved to be an effective social network, as all information is published in the first person, where users can express their personal opinion and their point of view.
In modern society, Instagram has become one of the main platforms for the sale of goods and services, more than 69% of users have switched to a business account. Instagram began to be used for the development of shops and private entrepreneurship.
Marketing on Instagram allows you to create an image of your store and product, position your brand by advertising products and services, promotions, contests, etc.
Best Selling Niches on Instagram [Solomina 2021]:
• Cosmetics, clothes and accessories;
• Boutiques, malls, showrooms;
• Specialized goods, exclusive;
• Needlework;
• Cafes, restaurants;
• Hostels, hotels;
• Food (sushi, pizza, edible bouquets];
• Services of cosmetologists, dentists, etc.
Currently, the Instagram social network provides many opportunities for advertising and for promoting their products, brand, etc., while users have the opportunity to promote for free, for example, using messages in Direct, acting as an e-mail newsletter, work with bloggers on the basis of mutual benefit (this method of promotion can also be paid] and mutual PR, the use of hashtags, work with reviews.
Most users publish photos without text or shorten it to two sentences. There are several reasons why visual content on social networks prevails over
other types. Firstly, the increase in the speed of contacts and information has led to the transition from writing (blogging] to curation, which is carried out using short statuses, photos, likes, emoticons, colors and fonts. A quick look at personal pages made the look "voyeuristic", spying on different forms of life, therefore the mass user is not always interested in the content of events, but he is always attracted by the imagery. Arguing about the meanings of modern culture, A. Genis noted that "our time is devoid of depth, because all the main things happen in the sphere of the obvious," namely, "in the world that has come to the surface, all the main things are outside". In other words, everyday network communication is characterized by "simple" forms of communication that do not require additional "semantic" participation. In addition, visual images turn out to be much more stable forms of interpretation than textual ones.
Secondly, the popularity of visual content is associated with the development of numerous graphics programs that are easy to use and do not require special skills from the user. It is these programs, thanks to which the transmission of video and photographic materials has become generally available, that allow any biography, history to be turned into a visual series or supported by created illustrations. Moreover, the availability of digital and webcams makes it possible, for example, using selfies, to replicate not only the faces of the elite (which was an unchanging rule from the Middle Ages to the era of glossy magazines], but also ordinary users. Now, according to the critic A. Ehler, everyone has become "the greatest fan of oneself, a personal paparazzi," which undoubtedly democratizes and emancipates social media. The famous YouTube slogan "Broadcast Yourself!" is democratic in nature and actualizes itself as a social project that is available to everyone, since any user with access to digital technologies can post their video or photo without any prior selection, censorship or approval. Social media gives the freedom to non-professionals to directly address the audience, bypassing the program editors, producers, typical for traditional channels of presentation of works [Eler 2013].
YouTube is the only one of the sites studied where both the number of authors and the number of posts increased in 2021. Although audience activity has increased from 2.8 to 3.3 posts, it remains low and reflects the transformation of YouTube into a "TV".
It is interested that, YouTube became more masculine at the same time -the share of male audience increased from 58% to 60.2%.
The network nature of services and their virulence have led to the massive spread of photography and video blogging on social networks. Visual usergenerated content has acquired a new status: from an artistic, expressive means, a way of documenting an event, it has turned into a means of communication or, according to E. Petrovskaya, into "pure communication". Now "ordinary" users, using the resources of the Web, have the opportunity to move from the local to the global level of communication, to become "opinion leaders" capable of influencing the views and observation techniques of the virtual
community. In this situation, the indicator of the success of visual content is the number of views, likes and ratings, which not only reproduce, but even reinforce the functional structure borrowed from traditional media, erasing the distinction between genuine and imaginary, original and copy. Video and photo hosting sites determine the top of the best user projects, the stars of YouTube and Instagram are "non-obvious people", whose daily life turns into a message: "I'm in a restaurant", "I'm in a seaside", "I'm driving or I'm in a traffic jam" and etc. As L. Manovich rightly noted, social networks have become a "visual window into reality," and now millions of users take pictures, pose, select filters, demonstrating a version of their everyday life [Manovich 2018: 256]. Particular aspects of a person's daily life that were previously hidden for many aspects of a person's daily life become visible, accessible to others. For this kind of content, a text message is no longer required, it is enough to post a photo or video so that users can get the necessary information. It is no coincidence that today the selfies posted on Instagram are called a "visual diary", similar to a traditional family album. But it is only necessary to keep in mind one significant difference - in social networks, any event becomes a media event, available for public viewing and discussion.
Essential for the analysis of the representation of everyday life is that the construction of everyday life is carried out through self-presentation or the user's own life world. Now everyone himself creates a version of his/her personality, builds his own visual course of everyday life. The multiple life forms of a person's everyday experience are not broadcast anonymously, but through the story of their own life, created by multiple actors, whose life until recently was unknown to a wide range of viewers. By publishing any information about a place, event, meeting, the Internet user turns himself, his life into a message, establishing and demonstrating to others his order of life. This is why the dominant image on Instagram (55%) is the self-portrait, or selfie [Murashova 2017: 70].
Mass distribution of content always presupposes both substantive and technological simplicity. Network parameters influenced not only the nature of the image, but also determined the very format of network photography or video. With all the variety of capturing everyday experience, visual representation in social media is normative, which is largely determined by the technical capabilities of the broadcast, for example, the small screen of a mobile device. Therefore, the picture (photograph] should be as bright as possible, without unnecessary details, in order to attract the attention of other users [Demidova, Soboleva 2017: 55].
At the same time, the format of visual messages on social networks is set based on socially desirable images and socially approved norms of behavior. Users are offered a constructed, that is, an idealized image of reality, which, according to S. Sontang, sets "the norm for how we see things." Thus, the normality of the visual is also determined by the "structure of desires" of the user, who seeks to make his material popular. Therefore, the evaluation by others
(in the form of likes of friends involved in the communication process] largely determines what and how the user will publish. By constantly taking into account the point of view of the Other, the user identifies himself and presents his daily experience, in which there is no distance between private interests and work [Temnikova, Akopova 2020: 390].
In their development, social networks, video chats have become a new consumer platform or, in the words of L. Boltanski, "the networked world of the new spirit of capitalism", which penetrates into the private, everyday practices of human existence. So, for example, YouTube video hosting during its existence has turned from an elite channel that posts unique content into a targeted advertising platform where users prefer to view mass and entertaining visual content. According to such researchers as G. Chatzopoulou, C. Cheng and M. Faloutsos, YouTube has become one of the main channels for promoting a person, services or products [Chatzopoulou, Sheng, Faloutsos 2010: 2; Cheng, Dale, Liu 2008: 230]. What's more, popular authors who run their personal YouTube channel are rewarded for their content by posting ads, paid subscriptions, or annotations to their blog. The success of a personal blog is primarily determined by the number of subscribers, likes and views of a particular video. It is the likes and views that are the "ideal quasi-money" that determine the effectiveness of the video blog not only from the marketing point of view, but also give the displayed events the character of a "general fact" that is significant and evaluated "from the point of view of the Other". In this sense, like as a "hieroglyph of pure sociability" also performs a communicative function aimed at instantly (online] strengthening and maintaining group identity.
What becomes the object of the image in the conditions of commodifica-tion of the channel? What video versions of everyday life and ways of its visual representation are offered by social networks? What should be the format of a video or photo in order for them to get the required number of likes, that is, to be seen on the network?
Modern vlogs are "simple videos about life" in which authors (video bloggers] record themselves on a camera and talk about how they travel, discuss some news, eat, shop, sleep. For example, most popular vlogs with millions of subscribers record the daily life of a young girl who goes / goes shopping, meets with her friends, prepares for exams, etc. Thus, now a celebrity becomes an ordinary person, his ordinary life is real time or those events that happened to him right here and now. His everyday life is mediated, turns into a certain standard, into a norm of socially approved behavior. If earlier people went to social networks to find out the latest news, now - to see what's new in the lives of friends. By its very nature, video blogging is voyeuristic: the audience likes the opportunity to look into the private life of other people, to spy on it. McDonald calls this relationship "permissible voyeurism", and this is the look of an entire audience of viewers who are watching what is happening, evaluating, commenting on it.
Of course, the number of scripts of everyday life can be varied, but their format is limited by the conditions of the Internet communication itself, which requires automaticity and predictability from visual images created by users. Therefore, here it is important to recall the ideas of N. Luhmann, who argued that communication as a system has the properties of self-generation and self-development. Its main role is to support itself (autopoiesis), while subjects (users] should not interfere with it, to carry out communication without delays, interpretations and interference. Therefore, as we have already noted, amateur visual images in social networks perform the function of "pure communication" and, unlike artistic images, they seek not to destroy, but, on the contrary, to recreate, according to Yu. Lotman, "automated grammar, without which the act of communication is impossible ". As a rule, high information content and originality destroy mass communication, so users prefer to like and comment only on those personal blogs where the uniqueness of the content is strictly dosed.
Conclusion
Thus, it should be stated that the development of social networks has opened up many opportunities for both ordinary users and well-known brands, as well as opened up wide career opportunities for many people and brought new earning opportunities. Instagram in modern society has become the main tool for shaping public opinion and an effective platform for promoting a personal brand, for selling goods and services. First of all, it is a tool of self-presentation and self-promotion, it allows people to follow their "standards" and imitate them, due to which the virtual socialization of the subject takes place. Thus, Instagram acts as a combination of elements of interpersonal, group and mass communication, which has affected both cultural, social, and economic and political spheres of society.
As for YouTube video hosting, it is worth noting here that this social network, as one of the promising communication channels, is relevant not only for modern society, but also for enterprises of various industries and fields of activity. It is an effective tool with which you can attract the attention of a large number of consumers and thereby increase sales with minimal promotion costs.
References
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СОЦИАЛЬНЫЕ СЕТИ КАК НЕОТЪЕМЛЕМЫЙ ЭЛЕМЕНТ СОВРЕМЕННОЙ КОММУНИКАЦИИ
Л.Б. Темникова1, А.В. Вандышева2
Кубанский государственный технологический университет (Краснодар, Россия)
Аннотация: Рассматриваются основные проблемы, связанные с деятельностью людей в информационном пространстве. Приводятся позиции зарубежных и отечественных исследователей, в ходе рассмотрения которых становится очевидным, что характерными чертами современного информационного общества являются глобальная информатизация и компьютеризация, господство Интернета и социальных сетей при обмене информацией. Более того, совершенно очевидно, что социальные сети стали неотъемлемым элементом
современной жизни и сегодня без них невозможно представить общение и развитие творческого потенциала личности. Новый тип взаимодействия -онлайн - обозначил принципиально иную ситуацию, когда на смену традиционным линейным связям пришли конфигурации групповой коммуникации. В онлайн-коммуникации пользователи так же, как и в офлайновой повседневной жизни, больше времени уделяют частным, бытовым интересам и увлечениям, а не общественно значимым вопросам. В зависимости от условий коммуникации контент в социальных сетях может быть как письменным, письменно-визуальным, так и визуальным. Сегодня информация в социальных медиа всё чаще репрезентируется при помощи визуальных изображений, хотя первоначально Интернет таковым не являлся. Делается вывод, что рассматриваемые социальные сети представляют не только развлекательный контент, но и открывают множество возможностей как для обычных пользователей, так и для известных брендов.
Ключевые слова: информационное общество, медиасреда, социальные сети, коммуникация, контент, платформа, статус, аудитория.
Для цитирования:
Темникова Л.Б., Вандышева А.В. Социальные сети как неотъемлемый элемент современной коммуникации // Коммуникативные исследования. 2022. Т. 9. № 2. С. 274-284. DOI: 10.24147/2413-6182.2022.9(2).274-284. (На англ. яз.).
Сведения об авторах:
1 Темникова Лина Борисовна, кандидат филологических наук, доцент, заведующий кафедрой иностранных языков № 1
2 Вандышева Анна Валентиновна, кандидат филологических наук, доцент, заведующий кафедрой иностранных языков № 2
Контактная информация:
12 Почтовый адрес: 350072, Россия, Краснодар, ул. Московская, 2
1 E-mail: temnikova-lina@mail.ru
2 E-mail: anna_valentino@mail.ru Дата поступления статьи: 26.10.2021 Дата рецензирования: 13.12.2021 Дата принятия в печать: 24.03.2022
