Vakula Ivan M.

In modern social knowledge, the idea of the role of the media in the self-regulation of society is urgent. There are various paradigms for considering the social significance of the media, within which they are viewed as an instrument of purposeful power influence on the social worldview, as an independent civil institution focused on the social cognition of society members, and, finally, as a mechanism for representing stable sociocultural concepts in the system of social communication. All of these approaches are united by consideration of the fundamental importance of the sphere of information relations as a factor in building social interaction. The article examines the social significance of key mass media, as well as the nature of their functioning in the context of modern technological development of communication media. The ratio of “natural” processes in the media space and the practice of targeted impact on public consciousness through key mass media is analyzed. The phenomenon of network media is investigated in the context of the general trend of shifting communication processes towards network interaction.

Currently, the leitmotif of mass media publications, social networks, speeches of statesmen and scientific research is the issue of patriotic education of young people. The authors of the article draw attention to the fact that higher educational institutions take an active part in the formation of patriotic consciousness of young people. A serious burden on educational activities is placed not only on vice-rectors for youth policy and educational work, but also on university teachers who actively contribute to the formation of value attitudes of modern students. According to the authors, along with the existing disciplines of the humanities block, the curricula of the 2023 set include such disciplines as "Fundamentals of Russian Statehood" and "Teaching by Ministry". The authors also noted that patriotic clubs play an important role in the formation of patriotic consciousness, and most importantly, social activity in the activities of patriotic clubs on the part of the students themselves.

The article attempts to analyze the theoretical and methodological foundations of stratification in relation to the socio-cultural differentiation of Russian youth. The study is based on G. Spencer's theory of differentiation and P. Sorokin's classical theory of stratification. Specific criteria for the differentiation of youth as a social group are considered. The authors come to the conclusion that the Russian youth is more differentiated than integrated, because the differentiating factors of youth in Russian society are much stronger than the integrating ones.