THE YOUTH IN THE EPOCH OF THE FIFTH TECHNOLOGICAL WAVE AS A SUBJECT OF SOCIAL IMPACT
Introduction. The aim of the research was to study the specifics of the phenomenon of youth culture, which is determined by modern culture as a form of being. The youth as a large socio-demographic group is characterized by its own specific culture, which is a complex socio-cultural phenomenon. Mass culture, consumer culture and the culture of everyday life are inextricably intertwined in the youth culture, the material foundations of which are the technical and technological achievements of the third, fourth and fifth technological ways. The theoretical part of this research relies on the conceptions of Jean Baudrillard of the affluent society and on the works of Russian researchers who study the everyday culture and the culture of consumption (A. N. Ilyin, A. V. Kostina, M. V. Lukov, B. V. Markov, A. Ya. Flier). Based on the understanding of culture as a form of being, the authors have used the conception of technological waves developed by Russian (Soviet) scholars (N. D. Kondratiev, D. S. Lvov, S. Yu. Glazyev). Methodology and methods of the research. The research methods included an informational and historical-genetic approaches that also involved the methods of theoretical (analysis, synthesis, induction) and empirical research. The empirical method involved polling as a method of collecting primary verbal information. While applying the polling methods, the authors relied on the hypothesis that modern youth mass culture is directly dependent on the existing material patterns: modern gadgets, computers, youth culture are specific signs of the mass youth culture. The results of the research. Questionnaire survey was conducted among the students of the Far Eastern Federal University and Internet users. The authors have come to the following conclusions: 1. Young people are actively going away from the mosaic morphology of subcultures though the phenomenon of youth culture remains structurally complex. 2. The vector of modern youth culture transformation is directed towards its active massification. 3. Mass youth culture is acquiring the feature of ambivalence. Conclusion. Modern youth culture is currently able of funding the adult mass culture based on the achievements of the fourth and fifth technological waves.