PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF CIVIL CONFRONTATION REPRODUCED IN THE UKRAINIAN SEGMENT OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to identify the psychological effects of civil confrontation, having an impact on the active part of Ukrainian society – users of social media (namely Facebook). The civil confrontation is a process occuring within the civil society as an important part of Ukrainian political process overall, and has being developed in a controversial way. The values’ promotion by “soft power” tools and the competition of discourses are of particular importance in this issue.

Methods. The critical discourse analysis (CDA) was utilized as a research method for the explanation of the of the “message-context” relationship, pointing out the positions of interest groups, and demonstrating the discourses’ interaction. The ethogenic approach provided the effective data work in the circumstances of a strong correlation between the object and the context and of an impossibility of laboratory experiments. Theoretical sampling was used for data collection.

Results. As a result of data analysis, the following psychological effects shaped by the practices of civil confrontation in social media are described: monotony, desensitization, ambivalence and alertness. These effects may be used to divert public attention, change (increase or decrease) the level of protest potential, push impulsive actions, impose conflicting ideas, or stimulate society to changes in values (both in a positive and in a negative ways).

Conclusions. Considering the increasing anomie in the Ukrainian society, the psychological effects may cause a sense of helplessness and exhaustion among citizens, and make the society prone to the various manipulative influences. Consequently, they could be used by interest groups to construct an agenda and establish the dominance of their own discourse at public arenas. Further research in this area should assess the potential impact of psychological practices on different target groups in the short-term and long-term perspective.