SOCIOLOGICAL BASIS OF THE DIGITAL SOCIETY PHENOMENON

Abstract

The article states that the digital society has begun a new stage in the development of humanity, that information and communication technologies are widely entering the life of society and are radically changing relations in various aspects, that they are taking precedence in the processes of information production, distribution and consumption. It also considers that human activity is directly related to the digital environment, that knowledge and information have become the main resources in the conditions of a post-industrial society, that the service sector, knowledge and information resources are becoming more important than material production in modern society, and that in a digital society it is possible to expand the possibilities of processing and distributing knowledge through information technologies. The analysis presents the fact that the digital society directly creates “digital inequality”, that the concept of "virtual identity" is being formed in a digital society, and that a person expresses himself not only in real life, but also through digital platforms. Changes in social control mechanisms in the digital society, the transition of control from state institutions to digital technologies, video surveillance systems, databases and algorithms are analyzed.