Message on the topic of social communication. The concept of social communication

4. Social communication

Social communication is an important mechanism of culture. This is the reason for the wide interest of sociologists in this phenomenon.

In sociology, a number of approaches to the definition of social communication have been formed:

1) the transfer of information, ideas, emotions through signs, symbols;

2) a process that connects individual parts of social systems with each other;

3) the mechanism through which power is realized (power as an attempt to determine the behavior of another person). A significant contribution to the theoretical development of social communication was made by G. Laswell .

He developed a model of communication in which he identified five elements:

1) who is the communicator (the one who transmits and forms the message);

2) what is the message;

3) how - a method of transmitting a message, a channel;

4) to whom - the audience to which the message is addressed;

5) why - with what effect, efficiency.

Another element of the Lasswell model was the system of effects caused by the influence of social communications on a person, which can also be characterized as functions:

1) behavioral effect;

2) evaluative (axiological) effects;

3) emotional effect - influence on a person's passions;

4) cognitive (cognitive) effect.

Another direction of sociological development of social communication as a phenomenon was the allocation of its types. Various classification bases have been developed, each of which reflects one or another characteristic of this social phenomenon.

By the nature of the audience:

1) interpersonal (individualized);

2) specialized (group);

3) mass.

According to the source of the message:

1) official (formal);

2) informal.

By transmission channel:

1) verbal;

2) non-verbal.

One of the most important elements of social communication is a social stereotype.

social stereotype is a simplified image of social objects or events that has significant stability. The persistence of stereotypes may be related to the reproduction of traditional ways of perceiving and thinking. In turn, such ways of perceiving and thinking can reproduce the dominance of some social groups over others.

The existence of stereotypes may be part of the emerging "image of the enemy". In this case, they can be imposed artificially.

Any social stereotypes have both positive and negative characteristics. A positive value can be attributed to help with orientation in circumstances that do not require analytical thinking. The negative point of the social stereotype is associated with the possible emergence of hostility, enmity between national groups, as well as the fact that they replace the analysis of information with the reproduction of standards of behavior and evaluation.

Mass communication has a strong influence on public opinion. Public opinion is the value judgments of groups of people regarding the problems and events of reality.

The existence of public opinion implies the existence of a problematic situation, regarding which discussion is possible, and a collective subject capable of realizing its own interests and discussing their implementation. Public opinion acts in the expressive (i.e., associated with the expression of emotions), control and directive functions.

It must be taken into account that the process of social communication is not always carried out properly.

This can be prevented by the so-called "information barriers".

Information barriers- these are obstacles that arise during the transmission and perception of messages.

The following main types of information barriers can be distinguished:

1) technical;

2) psychophysiological, associated with a person's ability to concentrate attention, the ability to cursive;

3) sign and semantic, implying the ability to recognize signs, know the words and terms of special languages; the ability to restore the meaning of a sign in a certain context;

4) situational, arising in case of irrelevance of the message for a person in a given situation.

The most striking and widespread example of informal social communication is hearing.

Hearing- this is information, the reliability of which has not been established and which is transmitted from person to person through oral speech.

The emergence of rumors is always due to a number of objective and subjective circumstances that can be characterized as factors in the spread of rumors. These include:

1) a problem situation that creates an information need;

2) unsatisfactory or lack of information; information uncertainty;

3) the level of anxiety of individuals.

Depending on the prevailing conditions, rumors have a greater or lesser influence on people's consciousness, but it cannot be denied at all, because it always exists. The influence exerted can manifest itself in various forms and at various levels.

There are several types: interpersonal, public,; a special type of social communication is the non-verbal communication of ritual actions.

Human communication can take place between units of varying size and complexity.

The individual must master the art of interpersonal communication, learn to communicate with himself - intrapersonal communication and self-reflection. He must be able not only to think and feel, but also to think and feel about his own thoughts and feelings.

Groups can be defined as a series of individuals between whom there is mutual communication. If the structure of group communication is formalized and clearly hierarchically built, then such a group is called a formal organization.

At the level of society, communication is carried out within the framework of accepted laws of communication, more or less formalized rules, conventions, mores and habits, as well as within the framework of the national language and traditions.

States communicate with their citizens usually in a formalized way: through announcements, acts of parliament, government decrees, and so on. Within their territorial boundaries, states also have a monopoly on a crude form of communication—organized physical violence.

Thus, communication can be considered as a factor that determines the level and type of organization of social groups.

In order for communication to take place, it is necessary to have a common language in which the subjects of communication could communicate, the presence of channels through which communication can be realized, the rules for its implementation.

Communication as a process is a kind of social action aimed at communicating people with each other and exchanging information. Communicative action differs from other types of social actions in that it is focused on the norms of communication that are in force in society. In sociology, there are two approaches to communicative action:

• rational-technological, considering communication as a simple set of means and methods of information transfer that society has;
• phenomenological understanding, represented by the concepts of A. Schutz and J. Habermas and focusing on the mutual understanding of the subjects of communication as the goal and basis of the whole process.

• innovative - reporting new information;
• orientational - helping to navigate in life, values ​​and information;
• stimulating - actualizing motivations.

In the 1920s the study of social communication has become a separate discipline.

Symbolic interactionism has shown the greatest interest in the problems of social communication. In particular, J. Mead tried to explain the mechanism of interaction, revealing the specifics of human communication in comparison with communication in the animal world.

Analyzing the sign language, he found out that the gesture of one of the participants in communication is understandable to another participant if he understands it as the beginning of a specific action. For example, when a dog bares its teeth, the other dog understands this as a signal to attack and, in turn, bares its teeth or runs away. Thus, the initial gesture is a sign that symbolizes the entire action that may follow it.

The condition for such anticipatory understanding is the ability of the second partner to the same reaction. It is thanks to her that he can have specific expectations regarding the behavior of another. The action is guided by these behavioral expectations, and the ability of both partners to similar reactions determines the possibility of mutual understanding and interaction.

Mead calls these behavioral expectations role expectations. Estimating the role of another allows you to foresee his behavior in a given situation. Such foresight as an internal act of consciousness presupposes that consciousness itself splits into I and the Other. This means the ability to put oneself in the place of another and, conversely, to look through the eyes of another at oneself. “Coming into communication with other people, I get from each of them some idea of ​​myself, as each of them sees me. From such representations, I develop a single image of myself.

Thus, the basis of social communication lies in the ability, putting oneself in the place of another, to anticipate his role behavior and orient his own accordingly. Communication skills develop from innate biopsychic inclinations in the game. The child, playing with imaginary partners, simultaneously plays several roles, alternately putting himself in the place of one of them, then another, then himself. The next stage is a group game with real partners, in which the skills of anticipating the behavior of others are honed.

C. Cooley considers social communication as a tool for the socialization of the individual. According to Cooley, socialization and the formation of an active personality occur in primary groups in which individuals are connected by direct relationships. A person acquires his Self in communication with other people. In the process of communication, an exchange of ideas about each other, knowledge of oneself and one's capabilities are carried out. The social in a person is his irresistible desire for communication with others and the product of this communication. Communication intersects the individual and the social, it is the focus of interaction. This is explained by the fact that in the course of communication, people's ideas about each other and about the society in which they live are developed and polished. Such representations constitute the "social consciousness" of the individual, linking him to society.

We can say that in symbolic interactionism, communication acts as a matrix of social life. Other approaches to the phenomenon of social communication are more specific and are aimed at studying its historical dynamics.

In 1960, the Canadian scientist M. McLuhan put forward the thesis according to which modern society is on the way from the “culture of the printed word” to the “visual culture”. This means that among young people, television, sound recording, and, later on, the computer and the Internet, are increasingly becoming the preferred channels of communication. At the end of the XX century. the center of research interest in communication has shifted towards the mass communication industry, its impact on the audience, the influence of information technology, the dynamics of verbal, non-verbal and extrasensory communication, the characteristics of individual perception of various types of communication, etc.

For large or small audiences. It is transmitted through symbols and signs. With the rapid development of technology, this has acquired various forms, which, unfortunately, does not mean an increase in its effectiveness. Also, some theorists consider this phenomenon as a way of influencing large audience groups, with the help of which the goals of those who broadcast information are realized.

Social communication: characteristic

The communication process involves 5 elements, without which it cannot be realized:

• Communicator - the one who initiates the transmission and forms it into speech, text, audio and video form;
• The message itself;
• The channel through which communication with the audience is established;
• The audience to which the information is directed;
• The purpose of the transmission and the level of effectiveness of the message (impact).

Thus, social communication is characterized by the presence of certain information that is distributed through a wide audience, its purpose is to influence the behavior, emotions and feelings of people. There is also such a presentation of information that is focused solely on the intellectual development of the masses and the expansion of their horizons. Such a presentation is characterized by neutrality and the maximum possible objectivity without evaluative elements.

Types of social communication

Some researchers understand social communication not only as a large-scale distribution of a message, but also as an individual exchange that occurs between two people. Its usual form is conversation. Despite the fact that this fits the description of “social”, more often SC is used in this sense when it comes to a group or mass of people. Therefore, in this article, we use the more common meaning.

• According to the type of audience, social communication is divided into specialized and mass. The second category does not imply any specifics and is ready to perceive any socially significant information.
• According to the source of the message, it can be formal and informal: official statements by the authorities correspond to the first type, and, for example, rumors about stars belong to the second.
• Through the channel of transmission can be verbal and non-verbal.

Social communication and its intention

Intention is the goal. A very important element because the quality of perception depends on it. There are several types of intentions in modern communication:

• Spread knowledge about the environment, inform people;
• To popularize the ideas of goodness, draw the attention of the audience to disseminate culture and reliable information about it;
• Impact on public opinion and consciousness, as well as the audience;
• Support and assistance in solving difficult problems, clarifying situations;
• Striving for neutral and pseudo-objective coverage of events;
• Establishing a dialogue between the audience and the broadcast source.

Social communication and criteria for its effectiveness

The basis of any type of communication is the establishment of a dialogue between the addressee and the addressee. If it is set poorly, or if the interpretation of the recipient of the information is incorrect, then it is not necessary to talk about the effectiveness of communication. Therefore, this topic is important when covering any type and type of communication.

There are a number of criteria by which the effectiveness of this phenomenon is established:

• A prerequisite is the desire of the communicator to clearly convey to the audience why he publishes information, what is the purpose of broadcasting certain events.
• The next criterion is trust. If the audience trusts the author-communicator and the means by which the message is carried out, then the dialogue can be successful. The goals of the author and the audience should be consistent with each other.
• The desire to build material on the basis of universal values, making the right accents.
• Messages should not be intrusive or presented in an overly neutral form: this violates their naturalness, and therefore reduces the effectiveness of the impact, associating with lies.

Thus, it is easily achievable if you follow a number of principles for presenting information and clearly indicate your attitude towards the audience. Although there are various types of communication, this article outlines the most universal characteristics and tips that will be useful to everyone involved in the QMS.

The communicative process is a necessary prerequisite for the formation, development and functioning of all social systems, because it is it that ensures the connection between people and their communities, makes possible the connection between generations, the accumulation and transfer of social experience, its enrichment, the division of labor and the exchange of its products, the organization joint activities, transmission of culture. It is through communication that management is carried out, therefore, in addition to all of the above, it also represents a social mechanism through which power arises and is implemented in society.

There are many definitions of social communication. The most common of them are: social communication is the transfer of information, ideas, emotions through signs, symbols; is a process that connects the individual parts of the social. systems with each other; - this is the mechanism through which power is realized (power, as an attempt to determine the behavior of another person).

There are several types of social communication:

By the nature of the audience:

• interpersonal (individualized)
• specialized (group)
• mass

According to the source of the message:

• official (formal)
• informal

By transmission channel:

• verbal
• non-verbal

Communication is a complex multicomponent process.

Its main components are:

• 1. The subjects of the communication process are the sender and recipient of the message (communicator and recipient);
• 2. Means of communication - a code used to transmit information in a sign form (words, pictures, graphics, etc.), as well as channels through which a message is transmitted (letter, telephone, radio, telegraph, etc.);
• 3. The subject of communication (any phenomenon, event) and the message that displays it (article, radio program, television story, etc.)
• 4. Effects of communication - the consequences of communication, expressed in a change in the internal state of the subjects of the communication process, in their relationships or in their actions.

Social communication in the process of its implementation solves three main interrelated tasks:

• 1. Integration of individual individuals into social groups and communities, and the latter into a single and integral system of society;
• 2. Internal differentiation of society, its constituent groups, communities, social organizations and institutions;
• 3. separation and isolation of society and various groups, communities from each other in the process of their communication and interaction, which leads to a deeper awareness of their specifics, to a more effective performance of their inherent functions.

Models of social communication

In the process of sociological research of communication processes, various models of social communication have been developed. Any communicative activity involves not only knowledge of the characteristics of the communicator, analysis of the content of information, but also an analysis of the audience. To carry out such an analysis, the communicator needs psychological competence. Knowledge of psychotypes allows you to determine the strategy of the communication process, to predict actions. Psychotype- a model of the behavioral structure of the personality and its interaction with the environment. Psychologists distinguish five main psychotypes: square, triangular, circular, rectangular and zigzag. Knowing the various psychotypes, the communicator in the process of communication uses this information to properly manage the communication process.

The effectiveness of information perception by the audience is influenced by the cultural, educational, social levels of the communicant. Important factors for successful communication are knowledge of the audience, respect for it, the ability to communicate with it on an equal footing, i.e. equality of psychological positions of the communicator and the communicant. In the 80s. 20th century J. Goldhaberg created a charismatic model of communication. He proceeded from the fact that TV has more effect on emotions than on the mind. Therefore, the success of television programs is less related to the information content, but directly depends on the “charisma” of the person who is on the screen. D. Goldhaberg identified three types of charismatic personality:

• · The hero is an idealized person, looks “as we want”, says “what we want”.
• · An antihero is a “simple person”, one of us. Looks “like all of us”, says the same thing, “as we do”. We feel safe with him. We trust him.
• · Mystical personality - alien to us (“not like us”), unusual, unpredictable. This type of communicator is suitable for late night transmissions.

When studying the impact on the perception of information by the intellectual level of the audience, it was found that for an audience with a high level of education, a two-way message is preferable. Such a message is a text that, in addition to the arguments of the communicator, contains the arguments of the other party. This is explained by the fact that such an audience needs to compare views and independently evaluate them. For an audience with a low educational level, it is recommended to use a one-way message containing only the arguments of the communicator. One-way communication is just as effective when the audience agrees with the communicator when it has not been affected by the opponent's arguments.

The goal of the specialist is to change the values ​​and behavior of the communicant. If it is possible to change the behavior of the communication object, then the actions of the communicator are considered as influence. Influence can be exerted in three ways: by forcing; manipulating the consciousness of the communicant; inviting him to cooperate. Since the specialist does not have formal power, his influence is based either on manipulation, or on cooperation, or on both of these methods at once.

The manipulation of consciousness is understood as the actions of a communicator aimed at changing psychological attitudes, value orientations, behavior of individuals and entire audiences, regardless of their desire. Among the reasons for manipulation are: a person's conflict with himself (A. Maslow); distrust towards other people (E.Fromm); feeling of absolute helplessness (existentialism); fear of close interpersonal contacts (E.Bern); an uncritical desire to get the approval of everyone and everyone; the desire for symbolic mastery of a communication partner (S. Freud); realization of a compensatory desire for power (A. Adler).

The purpose of manipulation is control over the audience, its controllability and obedience. To achieve the goal, various manipulative technologies are used: purposeful transformation of information (default, selection, “distortion”, distortion of information, reversal); concealment of exposure; impact targets; robotization. These technologies are used in such types of manipulative influence as:

• Image manipulation - since images have a strong psychological impact, they are widely used in communicative practice, especially in advertising.
• · Conventional manipulation - based not on personal psychological attitudes, but on social schemes: rules, norms, traditions accepted in society, family.
• Operational-subject manipulation - based on such mental characteristics of a person as the force of habit, inertia, the logic of the execution of an action.
• · Manipulation of the personality of the addressee - the desire to shift the responsibility for any action to the addressee, while the manipulator remains the winner.
• · Manipulation of spirituality - manipulation of the highest levels of the psyche (the meaning of life, spiritual values, a sense of duty).

The linear model of communication developed by the famous American sociologist and political scientist G. Lasswell and including five elements has received wide recognition and distribution:

• 1. Who? (transmits a message) - communicator
• 2. What? (transmitted) - message
• 3. How? (transmitting) - channel
• 4. To whom? (message sent) - audience
• 5. With what effect? - efficiency

Finding Lasswell's model applicable, albeit greatly simplified, some researchers began to develop it further. R. Braddock added to it two more elements of a communicative act: the conditions under which communication takes place, and the purpose with which the communicator speaks. The "Lasswell Formula" reflects a characteristic feature of early models of communication - it assumes that the communicator is always trying to influence the recipient, and therefore communication should be interpreted as a process of persuasion. This assumption orients the model for application primarily in the field of political propaganda analysis.

In the Shannon-Weaver model, communication is also described as a linear one-way process. The mathematician Shannon worked on his communication model in the late 40s by order of the Bell Telephone laboratory, and this largely determined the "technical" nature of the created model, its "remoteness". The main task was to reduce the "noise" and facilitate the exchange of information as much as possible. The model describes five functional and one dysfunctional (noise) factors of the communication process. Functional elements include: a source of information that produces a message; a sender encoding the message into signals; the channel carrying this message; recipient; goal or destination.

The signal is only as vulnerable as it can be distorted by noise. An example of distortion can be the superimposition of signals simultaneously passing through one channel.

The advantage of this scheme is that it is clear that the message sent by the source and the message that reaches the recipient do not have the same meaning. Later, the provision on the distortion of information was supplemented by other reasons for the initial and final information. In connection with the work on the selectivity of perception, it became known that the communication channel includes a sequence of filters, leading to the fact that the amount of information at the input to the system is greater than the information that works at the output [N.Wiener].

The inability of communication participants to realize that the message sent and received does not always match is a common cause of communication difficulties. This important idea, embedded in the Shannon-Weaver model, attracted attention and was developed in the studies of DeFluer, who expanded the original model into a more extensive network:

In particular, he notes that in the communicative process the "meaning" is transformed into a "message" and describes how the sender translates the "message" into "information", which is then sent through the channel. The receiver decodes the "information" into a "message", which in turn is transformed at the destination into a "value". If there is a match between the first and second values, then communication has taken place. But, according to DeFluer, full compliance is a very rare case.

The DeFluer model takes into account the main drawback of the Shannon-Weaver linear model - the absence of a feedback factor. He closed the chain of information from the source to the target with a feedback line that repeats all the way in the opposite direction, including the transformation of the value under the influence of "noise". Feedback enables the communicator to better tailor its message to the communication channel to improve the efficiency of information transfer and increase the likelihood of a match between the sent and received value.

The inclusion of feedback as a full-fledged element in the model of such seemingly one-sided processes as television, radio broadcasting, and the press seems problematic at first glance. But one should distinguish between first-order feedback, when the communicator can receive it during the impact, and indirect second-order feedback, obtained on the basis of an assessment of the results of the impact. In addition, the communicator begins to receive feedback not only from the recipient, but already from the message itself (for example, from the sound and image on the monitor). The fundamental absence of feedback can be noted only in exceptional cases of communication between large social groups - for example, when sending probes with information into space, "towards" extraterrestrial civilizations.

But the final overcoming of the simplified interpretation of communication as a one-way linear process was the Osgood-Schramm circular model. Its main distinguishing feature is the postulation of the circular nature of the process of mass communication. Its other feature is determined by the fact that if Shannon was primarily interested in channels - mediators between the communicator and the audience, then Schramm and Osgood turned their attention to the behavior of the main participants in communication - the sender and recipient, whose main tasks are encoding, decoding and interpreting the message.

A review of the definitions of "communication" conducted by W. Schramm made it possible to single out the common thing that unites them - the existence of a set of information signs. This set may include not only facts, objects, but also emotions, latent meanings ("silent language").

The adequacy of the perception of the message implies the existence of an area in which the experience of the communicator and the recipient is similar, in which certain signs are recognized by them in the same way. The communicator and the recipient have a "fund of used meanings", a "correspondence frame", and the area in which they can communicate successfully lies in the "overlap" of their "framework". The success of communication also depends on the expectations placed by the participants in communication with each other. Professor of the Department of Journalism at the University of Memphis J. DeMott points out that a certain tacit agreement has developed between the media and their audience, an agreement (Mass Comm Pact) that defines the duties of the QMS in relation to the audience, and the duties of the audience in relation to the QMS. The imperfection of this agreement lies in the fact that the points of view of consumers of information and its producers on the range of these duties are not the same.

According to Schramm, it is wrong to think that the communication process has a beginning or an end. In fact, it is endless. "We are small switches that continuously receive and distribute an endless stream of information ...". (Some researchers go even further in this direction, arguing that the entire inner life of a person consists solely of a unique combination of what he saw, heard and remembered throughout his life.)

A possible point of criticism of this model is that it creates the impression of "equality" of the parties in the process of communication. Meanwhile, this process is often unbalanced, especially when it comes to mass communication. Under these conditions, the recipient and the sender are not such equal participants in communication, and the circular model, which equalizes them as links in the same chain, does not adequately reflect the share of their participation in the communication process.

Dance's spiral model does not pretend to be a full-fledged model and arose only as a striking argument in discussions on the comparison of linear and circular models of communication. Dance notes that at present most researchers agree that the circular approach is more adequate for describing communication processes. But the circular approach also has some limitations. It assumes that communication goes full circle to the point where it starts. This part of the circle analogy is clearly wrong. The spiral shows that the process of communication is moving forward, and what is currently in the process of communication will affect the structure and content of communication in the future. Most models give the so-called "frozen" picture of the communication process. Dance, on the other hand, emphasizes the dynamic nature of this process, which contains elements, relationships and conditions that are continuously changing in time. For example, in conversation, the cognitive field is constantly expanding for those who are included in it. Participants receive more and more information on the issue under discussion, about the partner, his point of view. Knowledge in the discussion expands and deepens. Depending on the course of the conversation, the spiral takes on different forms in different settings and for different individuals.

The Dance model is certainly not a convenient tool for a detailed analysis of the communication process. The main advantage and purpose of Dance's spiral model is that it recalls the dynamic nature of communication. According to this model, a person in the process of communication is an active, creative, information-storing individual, while many other models describe him, rather, as a passive being.

The goal of the American researcher of mass communication G. Gerbner was to create a model with a wide scope of application. It was first introduced in 1956.

A specific feature of this model is that it takes on different forms depending on what type of communicative situation is being described. The verbal description of Gerbner's model is similar in form to Lasswell's: Someone perceives an event and reacts in the given situation by some means to create content accessible to others in some form and context, and conveys a message with some consequences. The graphical representation of the model already has the original look:

This model implies that human communication can be viewed as a subjective, selective, changeable and unpredictable process, and the human communication system as an open system.

What people choose and remember from a communicative message is often related to how they are going to use the information received. The behavioral approach links perception selectivity to reward-punishment categories. The probability of selecting information within this concept is determined by the formula:

Selection probability = ( B - H) / U

B - the expected measure of remuneration,

H is the intended punishment,

Y is the estimated cost of effort.

In addition to the variables mentioned in this formula, many other factors play a role in the choice of messages: random noise, impulsiveness, audience habits, etc. is what Gerbner calls context.

Gerbner believes that the model can be used to describe a mixed type of communication, including both a person and a machine, dynamic, visual, applicable to communication interactions of various scales - both at the level of individuals and at the level of large social communities.

Let us consider in more detail the simplest linear communicative model of Lasswell. He singled out three main functions of the communication process as an inherently managerial process:

• 1. Observation of the environment to identify a threat to the represented society and determine the possibilities of influencing the value orientations of this society and / or its constituent parts
• 2. the correlation of the ratio of the constituent parts of this society in its response to the "behavior" of the environment;
• 3. transmission of social heritage from generation to generation.

So, in this model, the following components of the communication process are distinguished:

• communication source (switch)
• · content
• communication channel
• target (audience)
• · Effect

In modern science, social communication is studied from different angles; the approach to it depends on the scientist's belonging to a certain scientific tradition, school or some direction. The corresponding understandings of communication can be roughly divided into three groups. These are understandings formed on 1) social, 2) linguistic and 3) proper communicative basis. The concept of "social communication" covers all three of these interpretations. The first approach is focused on the study of communicative means for the sake of their application (implementation of the social functions of communication); the second approach is related to the problems of interpersonal communication; the third - with the problems of the impact of mass communication on the development of social relations.

A.V. Sokolov offers the following scientific definition of social communication: social communication is the movement of meanings in social time and space. This movement is possible only between subjects, one way or another involved in the social sphere, so the obligatory presence of communicants and recipients is implied. Sokolov A.V. General theory of social communication. pp.17-18.

In expedient social communication, communicants and recipients consciously pursue three goals:

1. cognitive- dissemination (communicator) or acquisition (recipient) of new knowledge or skills;

2. incentive- encourage other people to do something or get the right incentives;

3. expressive- the expression or acquisition of certain experiences, emotions.

Depending on the material and technical equipment, that is, on the channels used, Sokolov proposes to distinguish three types of social communication (Fig. 1.2) Sokolov A.V. General theory of social communication. P.101-102.:

Rice. 1.2. The ratio of different types of communication

1. Oral communication, which, as a rule, uses, simultaneously and in an inseparable unity, natural non-verbal and verbal channels; its emotional and aesthetic impact can be enhanced through the use of such artistic channels as music, dance, poetry, rhetoric. Oral communication includes travel with educational purposes - expeditions, tourism.

2. Document communication, which uses artificially created documents, initially iconic and symbolic, and later writing, printing and various technical means to convey meanings in time and space.

3. Electronic communication, based on space radio communications, microelectronic and computer technology, optical recording devices.

One of the most important phenomena generated by the communication revolution of the twentieth century is the Global Information Network - the Internet (World Wide Web = WWW). The Internet, by all accounts, is turning into a virtual state with its own "cyber culture", territory and population, independent of national or political boundaries.

The widely used term "information society" is used to refer to a special type of social formation, late varieties of post-industrial society and a new stage in the development of human civilization. The most prominent representatives of this trend are A. Touraine, P. Servan-Schreiber, M. Poniatowski (France), M. Horkheimer, J. Habermas, N. Luhmann (Germany), M. McLuhan, D. Bell. A. Toffler (USA), D. Masuda (Japan) and others. High-tech information networks operating on a global scale are considered as the main condition for the formation of the information society. Information as the main social value of society is also a specific commodity.

The basis of the theory of the information society is the concept of post-industrial society, developed by D. Bell. In the form of the theory of the information society, the doctrine was widely developed during the computer boom of the 1970-1980s. Culturologist O. Toffler in his book "The Third Wave" made a statement that the world is entering a new, third stage of civilization, in the fate of which information demassed means of communication will play a decisive role, the basis of which will be computer systems connecting private houses with all interested parties. subjects of communication.

The end of the 20th - the beginning of the 21st century was generally marked by the growing interest of the scientific community in the issues of informatization of society. See: Burdukovskaya L.P. On the influence of information on a person, society, culture // Russian culture through the eyes of young scientists. - SPb., 2003. - Issue. 14. - S. 10-29; Kalandia I.D. The concept of the information society and man: new perspectives and dangers. // Man of the post-Soviet space: Sat. materials conf. - St. Petersburg. : St. Petersburg. Philosophical Society, 2005. - Issue. 3. - S.256-266 and others - the most important of the manifestations of scientific and technological progress. Club of Rome (A. Peccei, A. King, D. Meadows, E. Pestel, M. Mesarovic, E. Laszlo, J. Botkin, M. Elmanjra, M. Malica, B. Hawrylyshyn, G. Friedrich, A. Schaff , J. Forrester, J. Tinbergen and others) - one of the organizations engaged in large-scale research of modern processes of social development and forecasting the future, initiated a computer global modeling of the prospects for the development of mankind and the "limits to growth" of technological civilization. Many forecasts of the Club of Rome are rather bleak. Today we can safely say that humanity at the beginning of the new millennium entered the fourth stage of development, and the “fourth wave” is able to overwhelm the whole world not only with uncontrolled communications, but also completely tear a person away from his natural essence and interpersonal communication, transferring him to the virtual sphere .