Digitalization of social relations[Цифровая Среда В Социальных Отношениях]

The paper is based on the results of the research work “Social relationships and bonds as a factor of social integration in modern society”, conducted by the team of the Field Research Center of the Institute for Social Analysis and Forecasting (RANEPA) in 2023. The purpose of the study is to investigate current social relations and to develop the proposals for measures aimed at the integration of Russian society. The objectives of the research are to analyze the peculiarities of social bonds and relationships’ formation as well as their significance during a crisis, to study the aspects of transformation of social bonds and relationships in current reality, to identify the factors of integration in modern Russian society, to analyze the strategies for overcoming crisis situations by representatives of various demographic groups, to analyze the changes in household lifestyle and consumption affected by crisis and to develop the recommendations for measures aimed at increasing the level of integration in present-day society. The relevance of this research work is determined by the growing importance of strong social bonds and relationships in changing social and economic conditions, and alteration of interaction formats in the context of digitalization. The methods applied include analysis of scientific foreign and Russian literature and statistical analysis of data obtained from the online survey. During the period of July to August 2023, the Field Research Center conducted the online survey about the aspects of social relations in the digital space. The results of the empirical study demonstrate that most respondents (active Internet users) agree on the convenience of social networks and messengers as a platform for communication but doubt the ability to create strong social ties with digital instruments. Besides it is important for the participants to speak freely online, while many of them had to refuse to post any information on their social network pages and messengers over the past year.