Comparative analysis of «new» and social media in the context of socio-political and historical factors

There is rapidly growing impact of new information and communication technologies in the modern society. Different social spheres are felt it's impact. Serious changes have occurred in the sphere of distribution of mass information and in the field of public communication in general under the influence of these technologies. In recent years there have been attempts to give a new designation for the media, which would be taken into account occurring changes in them under the influence of modern ICT. One of such designations is the term "new media". Besides that researchers often use another definitions (for example "social media") with respect to the same phenomena that are implied by "new media". There is an attempt to clarify relatively "new media" and social media in this article. The authors apply the comparative analysis method in order to make it. They use as the main the following criteria: historical, functional, evaluative and socio-political. The introduction into scientific circulation of the notion of "new media" was caused by the rapid computerization and internetization of modern society. The emergence of "new media" is most probably happened in the end of the XX century while social media has long history. The appearance of social media is not connected exclusively with the emergence and spread of the Internet. The authors make a conclusion that the main and original purposes of "new media" and social media differ from one another. If the main purpose of "new media" is immediately information dissemination, the original goal of social media is social communication. The authors mark that apart from social communication and connectivity "new media" facilitate to personal autonomy from society. In the meantime modern social media focused foremost on social communication.

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