Pichko Natalia S.

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.

The authors of this article consider the sociocultural marginality of student youth in the modern risk society as a problem property. Properties inherent in student youth: the passage of the process of secondary socialization and the assimilation of various social functions; the problem of choosing social values and guidelines; struggle between responsibility and irresponsibility; rationality and irrationality; the impact of the information environment on consciousness; being at the intersection of the real and virtual worlds, balancing between them. The main criteria for the marginal position of student youth are: the state of uncertainty and transitivity of status positions; exclusion or partial and incomplete inclusion of student youth in functioning social and professional structures; the destructive state of previously developed social norms, the inability to follow them; anomie as a social disorganization of the risk society, which determines the behavioral strategies of young people.

The article is devoted to the consideration of volunteering and charity as forms of social service. The authors of the work point out that social service can be considered not only as a moral category, but also as a sphere of professional activity. Turning to the practices of social service, it can be noted that they are volunteering (voluntary activity) and charity. These social practices are voluntary activities of citizens aimed at providing social and psychological assistance to those in need. Volunteering and charity unite people, solidifies them in front of a common problem, and also allows citizens to show a sense of empathy, love, altruism and social responsibility - to grow spiritually and morally and serve for the benefit of society.