ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN FORMATION AND FUNCTIONING OF CIVIL SOCIETY

Abstract

Civil Society is the self-organized and self-regulated area of public relations in the state, that unites many institutes – subjects, that in the process of their activity form public relations aimed at strengthening civil society. One of these institutions is the means of mass media (media). The most part of media are non-governmental, private, and therefore are perceived as special – information – commercial projects designed to bring profits to owners. But media is a powerful institute of civil society, their purpose is to inform the public about current events as objectively as possible, to evaluate events. Their ultimate goal is to promote public control over the government.

We have witnessed fundamental changes in the communication model, because anyone can become a "small" media. Electronic technologies created new possibilities for reproduction of image or text: sign, sound, motion, picture and text are combined. "New Media" is all forms of data transmission via the Internet, it covers all of the new technologies in communications, such as: web-sites, e-mail and etc., and "social media" such as services where users interact with content (e.g., communication in blogs or social networks). Thus, new media includes social media.

Social Media is Internet services designed for mass distribution of content, where the content is generated by users themselves. An author may be any one, and that is opposed to traditional media, where the author is the preselected and limited number of people. If you use a typology of media space by H. McLuhan ("hot" and "cold" – by the degree of activity and of the audience feedback presence), then social media is the hottest type.

There are following types of social media: social networks; blogs and microblogs; forums; feedback-sites; photo and video sharing; geo-social services. Social networking and blogging are the most effective among social media. In 2014 there were approx. 862 million websites and personal blogs.

Social media is more dispersed and decentralized, less hierarchical compared to traditional media. It is relatively inexpensive or free. Its absolute advantage is the speed of disclosure (instantly). Publication or TV and radio programs after release cannot be changed and modified with social media editing and comments. As social media is characterized by self-organization, the result of the user’s activity may be unknown even to user himself.

Social media is interactive, convergent electronic media with a particular user-generated content; openness to interaction with readers gives them the ability to create or modify the content of the messages. Unlike traditional media where communication is performed on a "one to many" communication scheme, in the new media it is performed on "many to many" scheme. Access to new media is possible with all electronic devices with access to the Internet. Their benefits for civil society in comparison to traditional print and broadcast media: the possibility of feedback; transparency; discussion in the comments to the posts; low financial threshold of entry; creation of content in real time (e.g., Stream broadcast); opportunity to combine several forms of information presentation (audio, video, text); high frequency of publication. At the same time, there is the practical absence of censorship; small role of gatekeepers (who set limits to the content and themes of publications).

In determination of the role of social media in the functioning of civil society mood of optimism and cyberpessimism are combined. The first one considers the Internet as a free medium with lack of control, a precondition for the development of democracy, the ability to enhance social connections for all (including people with disabilities), mass education, the possibility of a direct appeal to the authorities. Cyber-pessimists fear networks, because of the threat of allpossible negative emotions (extremism, xenophobia, separatism, etc.), the way to control the citizens, degradation of public discourse, virtualization of social interaction, sublimation and violation of privacy. Although cyber threats are really obvious, still benefits of social media for the establishment and functioning of civil society are obvious: they allow users to interact, collaborate, communicate, share information or engage in any other social activity through blogs, wikis, social networks, etc.

Despite the problem of unchecked information, social media has a certain level of trust of the audience, so it is actively used in the area of politics and public administration (conducting of various informational campaigns with a wide audience coverage, forming of virtual communities, focus groups and work with them, socialization of online representative public authorities and politicians, socio-political forces, etc.). Production and formation of public opinion, active and effective communication are important social problems of new media that should not be taken as competitors of "old" media, as well as complementary partners in a common cause of formation and development of civil society.