The Role of Social Networks in the Capitalization of Regional Communities
The article represents the results of a sociological study on the role of social networks in the capitalization of regional communities conducted in the Kursk region in June - October 2019. A general assessment of the social capital of the regional community showed that it is characterized by a low level of social initiative, participation and trust. In the course of the study, the authors determine the level of privacy / publicity of network communities, and assess the level of readiness of public space actors for communication within the regional community, the ability to use connections and relationships to carry out socially useful collective activities and responsibility to community for the results of joint activities. The data obtained during the sociological survey show that the role of social media in the capitalization of regional communities is ambiguous: social networks occupy an intermediate position between the «inner circle» (friends, relatives, neighbors, members of the work collective) and institutional structures (local authorities and public organizations).