Virtual network communications and the political polarization of society (on the example of the United States)

Abstract

The article is devoted to assessing the degree of influence of virtual network communications on the level of ideological polarization of society. The theoretical basis of the research was the works of foreign authors devoted to the problems of the network society and network communication, and the empirical basis was the results of observation of the information and communication processes that accompanied the US presidential campaign in 2020. The use of communication and network approaches allowed to trace the correlation between the mass use of popular Internet services and the political radicalization of citizens. The authors conclude that virtual network communication has a high potential for conflict. It ensures cooperation between groups of like-minded political activists, but exacerbates the political polarization of the society. The algorithms of new media are designed to stimulate ideological confrontation. The principle of maximum personalization of content immerses ordinary users in «information cocoons» (echo chambers), where they are isolated from alternative views of the surrounding reality. By constantly provoking the audience of social networks to emotional reactions, political actors and the media deliberately exacerbate the contradictions existing in society. They fill the virtual environment with resonant statements, mutual insults and fake news.The sense of permissiveness experienced by individuals using social networks contributes to the radicalization of the new media discourse. The key problem is that this state of affairs satisfies IT-corporations and meets the particular interests of the subjects of political struggle. From the point of view of the authors of the article, it is objectively necessary to introduce strict political and managerial mechanisms that can ensure the ordering of communication processes in the virtual environment. There are prerequisites for the ideological polarization of society in modern Russia, as in the United States. There is a great danger that during the fateful election campaigns at the federal level the ideological confrontation in social networks may develop into the violent struggle. To prevent the implementation of this negative scenario, a qualitative modernization of the existing regulatory framework in the field of regulation of network communications is required.