Zimina
Olesya Rushanovna
Mordovian
State Pedagogical Institute after M. E. Evsevyev
Globalization
and informatization of the public as the modern factors of stratification.
The
modern scientific literature devoted to the problems of philosophical,
sociological, culturological studies deals with such concepts as “hyper
reality”, “media sphere”, “mediazation” that express attitude to the reality
constructed by mass media. The term “media sphere” possesses an inalienable
benefit among the others as the given term allows to consider mass media in the
context of well-investigated concept as “social sphere”.
P.
Sorokin was one of the first scholars who has introduced the concept “social
sphere” into a scientific use. Later French sociologist P. Bourdieu has
developed classical tradition dealing with social sphere with reference to
modern reality. In social sphere he pointed out economic, political, cultural
and symbolical spheres paying special attention to the last one.
Developing his views at symbolical sphere it is possible to approve that it has
become a basis of media sphere. In the process of sociogenesis any society
develops system of signs, symbols, codes that are a high-priority basis of the
communication. Selection and processing of information by modern electronic
media are possible due to basic sociocultural myths that create a semantic
field where messages don’t vanish completely but are acquired by the
consciousness of a person.
Modern
public is characterized by the influence of mass media on the different spheres
of sociocultural activity of the person. A lot of permanent scholars examine
mass media as a special social institute of an epoch of modernization and
informatization and its influence on the person and society. For example, A.
Toffler considers “globalism” and “informatization” to be a natural way of
expression of domination that must function without taking into consideration
state borders. Nevertheless American writer D. Rushkoff is adjusted much more pessimistically towards the globalization
of media sphere. In the papers he deals with “info sphere” that has become a
new phenomenon of the end of the XX century that includes different means of
transferring, processing and modification of information. Moreover he touches
upon a number of thorny questions that are actual nowadays. How does the
mankind created “info sphere” supervise processes proceeding in it? Whether
will an uncontrollable increase of information cause the appearance of
dangerous media viruses deforming the perception of information? Being produced global media sphere makes us
think not only on destiny of art in media sphere that has cause the formation of “the third civilization” (F. Sagasi’s term)
but also about authority of media above public.
Media
sphere of modern Russia represents complex organism that covers not only policy
and economy but also social institutes, public consciousness, spiritual and
material cultures that assists socialization and sociogenesis.
Modern
media sphere is characterized by the domination of the screen culture
consisting of TV, the cinema, video, DVD, e-mail, computer channels and the
Internet as “sphere of free communication”. It proves that we have become a society
based on the information. Consequently it has determined the generation of new
social differentiation and social inequality. Nowadays not only capacity on
material benefits is considered to be the criterion of social differentiation
but also personal qualities of an individual, and, first of all, his ability to
operate with the information and knowledge producing new informational products
or even acquiring existing ones. It has caused the differentiation of society
into two opposite camps. One of which is represented by the public sticking to
traditional mass media and the second one includes interactive users of the
Internet.
Thus
to step from one public into another one will be difficult despite of expansion
of hegemony of the Internet as the computer communication remains the character
feature of educated part of population of the most industrialized countries. It
should be mentioned that one can observe the difference among adherents of
traditional mass media concerning consumption of information. The first group
is capable to read “serious newspapers”, has access to the international
editions in foreign languages, the second one’s sources of mass media are
reduced to the information provided by TV. It has caused stratification shifts
in modern society. Therefore one can come to conclusion that mediazation of
public based on the
informative-cognitive activity of a person is a permanent factor of social
stratification in the XXI century. Some characteristics of the basic process of
stratification in the informational society are described in the papers of
scholars such as D. Bell,
P. Bourdieu, A. Giddens, R. Dahrendorf, A. Toffler, A. Touraine, J.
Habermas. They analyze sociogenesis of postindustrial society, pointing out its
fundamental features that are directly connected with the process of
stratification and social mobility.
Sources
of cognition of the world, character of perception of social reality, intensity
of informational streams in society influence on the definite sides of public
differentiation. New information and expansion of cognitive sphere transform
preferences and ways of interaction of people. Modern scientific discoveries
assist the appearance and development of new branches of manufacture that cause
the redistribution of staff between the economic industries, changes of
technological basis, occurrence of new trades. Modern tendency that is typical
of postindustrial society reflects changes in the social structure that is
characterized by the decrease of a fraction of working class and the increase
of a fraction of workers in the service industry. Moreover the process of
globalization connected with the propagation of transnational economic
relations, different kinds of services, informational streams, cultural
production causes occurrence of new features of the social order in
postindustrial society.
Thus
the influence of modern media institutes on the stratification and
consciousness of an individual is becoming more actual. Variations of all
system of communication are the results of the deep processes of mediazation of
public. On the one hand they have determined an aggravation of a
socially-psychological problem described on an example of social
differentiation of public. On the other hand they assist formation of more open
and democratic media sphere allowing the Russian public to master informational
sphere of the world.
References
1. Bourdieu P. About TV and journalism. Ì.:
Fund “Pragmatics of culture”, 2002. – 159 p.
2. Durkheimn D. About division of social labour. A method of sociology. Ì.: Science,
1991.
3.
Rushkoff D. Mediavirus. How the pop culture secretly influences on your
consciousness. Ì.: Logos, 2003.