Self-organization of Citizens in the Age of Digital Communications

The article addresses the issue of civic participation in online communities. It is shown that modern network technologies make it easy to combine institutionalized forms of civic participation with informal practices through social media. In today’s digital world, unique activities have appeared that were not feasible before the introduction of online technologies: hacktivism as a new type of civil disobedience, Internet propaganda, the viral launch of hashtags and challenges in TikTok, monitoring of electoral procedures for webcams, etc. According to the author of the article Numerous publications by scientists about the deep crisis of civil society institutions, in fact, do not describe the decline in civic participation, but its complication and reorientation to more non-hierarchical and creative practices with t ud amenable to analysis by customary methods. According to the author, the increasing influence of information and communication technologies on the political process has contributed to a refocusing of civic activism towards the mediation of politics and media activism. The article emphasizes that the capabilities of Internet technologies contribute to the alienation of citizens from real problems, the rooting of virtual imitation of civic participation, forming the so-called foci of fake activism.The article presents an analysis of a new form of citizen activity – online rallies. The April case of online rallies in 2020 is analyzed in detail using the “Talkers†service of the popular car navigator from Yandex. It is concluded that online rallies will gradually be introduced into the Russian political process. In this regard, online space is becoming more polarized and politically dangerous. It is proved that the self-organization of citizens in online communities contributes to the slow transformation of the existing institutional framework.