Social Media as a Factor in the Political Socialization of Young People: From Hierarchy to a Network Model

Abstract

This article analyzes the role of social networks in the process of political socialization of modern young people. The author notes that Internet technologies and social media have had a signifi cant impact on the transformation of traditional forms of social and political communication. The hierarchical structure, where the key agents of socialization are the institutions of the family, schools, and traditional media, is being replaced by a network model with its inherent non-linear and non-hierarchical processes. The result of this has been the emergence of a network model of political socialization characterized by nonlinear processes, the strengthening of subject-subject relations, the introverted character of socialization and the predominance of horizontal relations between the participants of political socialization.

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