The impact of digitalization on social development

Abstract

The article shows the place of digitalization in the natural transition from the industrial-market to the information-network economy. The authors clarify the structure of relations that determine the mechanism of interaction of technical and technological processes of digitalization and socio-economic relations, and note the complexity of the reflexive interaction of the technical, technological and socio-economic components of societal development. The objective foundations and modern features of the processes of dissemination of information, communication and digital technologies, manifested at the societal level, are revealed. The dualistic nature of digitalization development is revealed: the introduction of the latest technologies not only opens up additional opportunities for business, governments and people, but also generates significant problems, challenges and risks, forming the so-called "digital gap". It is emphasized that in the social dimension, the most characteristic of such gaps is the difference in opportunities for access to digital technologies, which potentially leads to unfair distribution of benefits and increased inequality in society. The main social risks caused by the processes of digitalization at the micro and macro levels are identified. The dynamics of digitalization processes and their impact on social development in a global and national context are comprehensively characterized. Shown various national management strategies, formulated as responses to the challenges of digital development and with a focus on minimizing the social risks associated with them. The modern approaches of the European Union to regulating the impact of digitalization on social development and employment are revealed, including those related to the adoption in 2010 of the Digital Agenda for Europe, the construction of the European Digital Single Market and the implementation of the European Gigabit Society Strategy until 2025. Proposed a few corrections in the mechanisms of Ukraine’s national policy regarding the anticipation and regulation of the social consequences of digitalization, in particular, in the context of the Strategy for the digital transformation of the social sphere of Ukraine presented in September 2020.