THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS OF DIGITAL SOCIOLOGY
T is article is devoted to the theoretical and methodological problems of conceptualizing a new branch of sociological knowledge - digital sociology. T e transfer of various aspects of human life to the virtual space (to social networks and new media) has created a number of challenges for the classical social sciences that have never been faced before. T e main one is the assessment of the impact of social processes taking place in virtual space on the reality around us. Today, the phenomena emerging on the Internet are invading our “physical” world with increasing intensity, the socalled “real virtuality” is being formed. At the same time, an important aspect is the reverse ef ect on the virtual world of the processes taking place in social reality.T e response to the virtualization of social life was the emergence of a new branch of sociological science - digital sociology. Having originated in the mid-2000s, it is actively developing: the problem f eld is being clarif ed, its subject is being concretized, and the methodological toolkit is expanding. At the same time, there are also problems, “bottlenecks” that require comprehension and scientif c overcoming.Within the framework of this scientif c article, the processes of virtualization of public life, the essence and features of an electronic social network account are considered, the author’s def nition of digital sociology is formed, the methodological toolkit is characterized, and the advantages and challenges of digital sociology are identif ed.