Information Space of a Transitive Society: Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

In the paper, we show the specificity of identity in the situation of transitivity, reveal the connection between different aspects of the transitive and information space, and distinguish between two the types of transitivity — rigid and fluid, that are associated with different ways of working with information — on-line and off-line. Theoretical and empirical data is analyzed to prove the changes in cognitive development and an increase in the operational side of informational socialization, which affects the transformation of personal identity and the relationship between generations. The materials of theoretical and empirical studies revealing the importance of the information style of identity for socialization in the modern world are presented. The empirical study of young people (N=140, age 18—21) yields the connection of rigid and fluid transitivity and on-line and off-line communication with styles of information identity and emotional well-being. The influence of transitivity on the on-line and off-line options of working with information is revealed, the key factor in determining psychological well-being in both hard and soft transitivity situations proves to be the style of information identity. The problems of modern digital informational socialization and the prospects for its further research are determined.