Social Media,Civic Engagement And Risk Society:A Case Study Of Russia

The rapid development of the second-generation Internet and social media in Russia since the 21 st century,given the excellent performance of social media in the dissemination of information,expression of appeals and mobilization of participation,which opens a window of opportunity for the development of Russian civic engagement.Since 2010,civic engagement in Russia has gradually been liberated from the elite-dominated political sphere and has step into a wider range of participation that related to society,politic,economy,culture,environment and etc.In terms of participation,while the proportion of street protests has gradually decreased,the stable and regular forms of civic participation have gradually become mainstream.Thus,the civic engagement in Russia has been appreciably expanded,both in terms of form and content of participation.To explore how social media enhance Russian civic engagement and the possible consequences of that enlargement.This paper systematically combs and summarizes the social media and civic engagement development in Russia over the past decade.With the transformation of the Internet from a productivity tool to a new lifestyle,the expression and communication of daily life in cyberspace is increasing.Since 2010,a series of online mutual help platforms have been established,and the government of the Russian Federation has also popularized the construction of e-government among administrative bodies at all levels.These changes break the long-standing phenomenon of random combination of Russian citizens in civic engagement due to emergencies.Stable and enduring interlinking has enhanced the social capital of the Russian people.Meanwhile,the increasing direct contacts between the people and the government have forested citizens' autonomy.However,in the view of the risk society,human beings with the power of technology to promote their own development will also be under threat of gradually accumulated "development side effects".Social media is not just a simple medium of communication.It has a double living space – real society and online space.With Russia's diverse social stratification,social media has a filtering effect in gaining civic engagement and the so-called citizens' participation de facto only involved a part of the Russian population.Therefore,here comes the risk of public disagreements and even confrontations,which is the core issue for the continuous development of Russian civic engagement in the future.