HORIZONTAL INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS OF PARLIAMENT MEMBERS AS ASSESSED BY INSTAGRAM USERS
The subject of the study is identification of the content peculiarities and its impact on users of the social network Instagram, based on the case the State Duma members from Kuzbass. The purpose of the study is to analyze the qualitative parameters of the content created in the Instagram social network by members of the State Duma from Kuzbass. The methodological basis of the study was formed with M. Castells' network society approach and J.-F. Lyotard's concept of the pluralism of truths. The use of these approaches has made it possible to consider Internet communications in social networks as an unpredictable source of information from the standpoint of users' assessment. To systematize data and analyze information “bursts” in the social network, a specialized Feedspy software has been applied. Subsequently, using the method of content analysis, posts and comments have been analyzed focusing on the cases of Anton Gorelkin and Vyacheslav Petrov, politicians-members of the State Duma from Kuzbass, who are the most active on Instagram. The chronological framework of the study covered the electoral campaign period from April to September 2021. In considering the term Internet communications, the paper identifies two existing communication models - vertical and horizontal. The modern system of communications in social networks corresponds to a horizontal model of communications based on the principle of subject-to-subject relations. As a definition of Internet communication, the approach of J. Arquilla and D. Ronfeldt is used, who define communication as a structure that promotes the transfer of information and the formation of values. It has been found that news, image and communication content are the most popular content types among the parliament members. A. Gorelkin uses more diverse types of content in his social network and actively builds communication through comments, while parliament member V. Petrov builds communication in a completely different way. Against the background of a very “calm” election campaign, as evidenced by the subject matter of the posts and the presence of comments from fake pages, there is a very high proportion of positive comments