DIGITAL SOCIOLOGY IN UZBEKISTAN: NATIONAL STATUS AND INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Abstract

The article outlines the renewed scientific agenda of sociology amid the digital revolution and provides a theoretical-methodological grounding for digital sociology in the context of Uzbekistan. Information and communication technologies, artificial intelligence, and big data have ushered in a new phase of studying society, demanding in-depth analysis of social relations, communication models, and shifts in social consciousness. Digital sociology integrates classical methods (surveys, interviews, observation) with contemporary approaches-digital platforms, online networks, web analytics, content analysis, digital ethnography, and network analysis-thus enabling the investigation of social reality through “digital traces”. The study defines the field’s object through key strands: online identification, the impact of information flows on public consciousness, network culture, algorithmic governance, and digital inequality. As its theoretical foundation, it employs the structural-functional approach (T.Parsons, R.Merton) to examine how digital systems contribute to social stability and their unforeseen (latent) effects. Drawing on international experience (the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Singapore, India), the paper recommends expanding open-data infrastructure, establishing specialized laboratories, introducing courses in “Digital Sociology” and “Data Science for Social Research”, strengthening data-ethics protocols, and encouraging international grants.