=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-3090/paper16
|storemode=property
|title=Generation Z Social Capital as a Result of Digital Socialization
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3090/paper16.pdf
|volume=Vol-3090
|authors=Irina Tolstikova,Olga Ignatjeva,Konstantin Kondratenko,Alexander Pletnev
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/ims2/TolstikovaIKP21
}}
==Generation Z Social Capital as a Result of Digital Socialization==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3090/paper16.pdf
Generation Z Social Capital as a Result of Digital Socialization
Irina Tolstikovaa, Olga Ignatjevab, Konstantin Kondratenkob and Alexander Pletnevc
a
ITMO University, 49 Kronverksky pr., St. Petersburg, 197101, Russia
b
Saint-Petersburg State University, 7-9 Universitetskaya emb., St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia
c
Saint-Petersburg University of Internal Affairs Ministry, 1 Pilyutova Str., St. Petersburg, 198026, Russia
Abstract
The purpose of the article is to reveal the features of the social construction of reality by
representatives of generation Z and to assess, on the basis of the data obtained, the evolution
of the social capital of modern society. Based on generational analysis, social constructivism,
and research on social capital, the authors surveyed 201 students enrolled in higher education
institutions in St. Petersburg. The focus of research attention was such characteristics of
respondents as independence in decision-making, the ability to maintain rational thinking and
conduct critical discussion, interaction with real and virtual spaces, and the cognitive
foundations of social communications. Based on the data obtained, a number of important
conclusions were drawn about the loss of social capital and the weakening of social ties, on the
need to differentiate between social, cultural and civil capitals, on capital compensation in a
virtual environment, as well as on the influence of modern technologies on the way of building
social ties. This work is a continuation of the work of a team of authors on the study of the
features of Generation Z, begun in 2019.
Keywords 1
Generation Z, social capital, virtualization, phygital reality, digital behavior
1. Introduction
The loss of social capital is becoming a problem in modern society, and Generation Z follows these
trends with the peculiarities of their behavior and construction of reality. In general, it can be recognized
that the “digitization” of social interaction reduces social capital every year.
Generation Z is currently a fairly small group. The total number of Russian “digital natives” today
is approximately 22 million. (for comparison: "millennials" outnumber "buzzers" by about 1.6 times
[1]). There is every reason to believe that Gen Z are more socially isolated from the mile than other
generations. This is confirmed by the following social trends: the number of single parents in 2017
amounted to a third of all Russian families, and the number of single mothers over the past 20 years has
increased 3 times [2]; it is also worth noting the low level of trust of Russians to each other - 56% of
young people initially regard strangers with distrust (compared with an average value of 48%) [3].
The decline in social capital, especially characteristic of the youth environment, does not apply to
the description of exclusively Russian reality. Generation Z, as noted by K. Trinko [4], is the loneliest
generation in the United States. Cigna conducted a survey showing that about half of American citizens
sometimes or always feel lonely, and one in five Americans surveyed reported that meaningful face-to-
face meetings occur less often than once a week. At the same time, the survey did not reveal a significant
difference in the levels of loneliness between those who often or, conversely, rarely used social
networks [4].
A 2017 report for Senator J. Michael Lee of Utah described the following indicators of declining
social capital in American society: Monthly church attendance has declined from the early 1970s to the
present - from 50% to 57% up from 42% to 44% now; in 1974, a third of Americans communicated
IMS 2021 - International Conference "Internet and Modern Society", June 24-26, 2021, St. Petersburg, Russia
EMAIL: tolstikova_irina@mail.ru (A. 1); olga7919@mail.ru (A. 2); kondratenkoks@inbox.ru (A. 3); venger.vin@rambler.ru (A. 4)
ORCID: 0000-0003-2804-7102 (A. 1); 0000-0002-1658-6427 (A. 2); 0000-0002-9145-5435 (A. 3); 0000-0002-5966-988X (A. 4)
© 2021 Copyright for this paper by its authors.
Use permitted under Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
CEUR Workshop Proceedings (CEUR-WS.org)
180 PART 1: Internet Psychology
with their neighbors several times a week, while in 2017 only 19% do it; people spend less time on
casual conversations with colleagues, going from an average of 2.5 hours a week in the mid-1970s to
just under an hour in 2012; families are also getting smaller, and the percentage of children raised with
or without a parent has doubled, from 15% to 31% [5].
Perhaps the problem of social capital has a solution in its transformation - it flows from the physical
world to the virtual world. D. Hessekil notes that generation Z has a much larger global network of
connections and friends, which is worth learning from them [6]. Growing social disunity may well be
accompanied by an increase in social connections in the digital world. At the moment, it is difficult to
give unambiguous answers to questions about the pace at which the transformation of social capital is
taking place, whether it is appropriate to compare social and virtual capital, and what are the possible
consequences of these processes. However, in any case, the study of the specifics of the social capital
of generation Z is necessary in the context of this topic.
2. Literature review
The study of the social capital of generation Z is based on the structuralist-constructivist theory of
Bourdieu. The special type of reflexivity that is characteristic of Generation Z is in fact a form of cultural
capital. Cultural capital in Bourdieu's interpretation is the sum of all the cultural resources of an
individual [7]. Bourdieu identifies several types or states of cultural capital - incorporated, which
involves the accumulation and creation of cultural potential by an individual, objectified, that is, capital
in the form of cultural things, and institutionalized, that is, certificates of academic qualifications issued
by various institutions [8; 9]. Among the followers of Bourdieu, we are most interested in the concept
of "reflective habitus" by Sweetman [10], from the point of view of which reflexivity as a form of social
capital is an advantageous property for more financially secured and educated students. Bourdieu's
concept of cultural capital is effectively used to interpret the characteristics of youth [11]. Attempts are
being made to quantify cultural capital [12; 13].
An important conclusion from Bourdieu's concept of cultural capital is that cultural capital is highly
dependent on education and the introduction of innovations in society requires an impact on the
individual's habit. Bourdieu noted that cultural capital flows from habitus [14]. Habit, in turn, turns out
to be extremely dependent on the external social environment [15]. Creation of an environment
favorable for the implementation of innovations is a promising direction for the development of social
technologies.
R. Putnam's concept of social capital turns out to be very close to understanding cultural capital in
Bourdieu's concept as part of a reflective habit. This theoretical analogy is especially important, since
there are different interpretations of social capital and this concept itself was introduced into scientific
circulation 6 times with different semantic shades [16]. Putnam understands social capital as social
connections, networks, and norms that involve a relationship of reciprocity and trust. The characteristics
of reciprocity and trust strongly influence the nature of social capital. In particular, in the book For
Democracy to Work, Putnam cites the results of a study of Italian society, in which there is a significant
difference between the north and south of the country [17]. The more economically successful northern
regions of Italy are characterized by a large number of different communities and associations. In the
south, on the contrary, mutual distrust is more widespread; nepotism and corruption flourish in society.
Obviously, this situation is the result of certain cultural characteristics of the community, and in this
interpretation, Putnam's social capital is close to the concept of Bourdieu's cultural capital.
In the context of the increasing virtualization of social interaction in the generation Z environment,
the concept of Bourdieu's social capital is becoming extremely relevant. It demonstrates significant
heuristic value for both theoretical interpretation and empirical study of the characteristics of the digital
generation.
3. Theoretical and methodological foundations of the study
This article represents the second phase of Gen Z research. A series of studies in this area began in
2019 (DTGS-2020). This time, the focus of the study was the question of the formation of social capital
in Generation Z in the context of the social construction of reality. The author's questionnaire was
IMS-2021. International Conference “Internet and Modern Society” 181
compiled, which made it possible to identify the characteristic features of generation Z in the process
of constructing social reality. The questionnaire assumed work with a random sample of 201 first and
second year students from four universities in St. Petersburg. The sample size in this study was not
large due to the difficulty of accessing students in a pandemic. In addition, the project itself involved
working with three different questionnaires, which ultimately increased the volume of work to 600
observations.
The research program and the questionnaire were developed taking into account the theoretical
concept of social construction of reality by P. Berger and T. Luckman, which is an expression of the
theoretical and methodological approach of social constructivism. Interpretation, which is characterized
by the inductive logic of research, laid the foundations for the epistemological orientation of our
research. Interpretation of facts is based on the concepts of analysis of social capital by P. Bourdieu, R.
Putnam, as well as theories aimed at analyzing generations by N. Hove, W. Strauss, J. Palfrey, D.
Stillman, D. Tapscott, M. Prensky, Tolstikova I.I., Mamina R.I. and others.
This article presents the stage of the research associated with the analysis of the features of the social
construction of reality by generation Z, therefore, as a research method, a questionnaire survey of 201
students was chosen, the choice of which met the requirements of representativeness, since it repeated
the sex and age structure of society characteristic of the age cohort of 15-19 years old. those. 49% of
men and 51% of women [1]. The sample is dominated by representatives of young people aged 18-19,
their number is 74% of the total number of respondents. Analysis of the survey results and their
interpretation allows us to establish a clear connection between the features of the social construction
of reality by generation Z and the formation of their social capital.
The limitations of the study were related to the specifics of the object. It is difficult to separate the
features of perception and changes in reality by generation Z, associated with the specifics of this cohort,
from the process of primary and secondary socialization under the influence of social institutions. We
understand these limitations.
4. An empirical analysis of the social construction of reality in Generation Z
The formation of social capital is one of the keys to a successful career, which is an important goal,
especially for representatives of generation Z, who are gradually becoming equal members of society.
This process proceeds simultaneously with the development of the surrounding world by young people,
which means not just the assimilation of social values and norms, but also a conscious transformation
of reality. The studies of the first stage (2019-2020) showed that despite the dominance of
individualistic values in the profile of representatives of generation Z, he was also not free from the
collectivist values of mutual assistance and empathy, which generally reflects the specifics of Russian
culture [18].
The survey on the social construction of reality was presented by a series of fourteen questions
reflecting the most important aspects of this social-cognitive process. So to the first question of the
informational part of the questionnaire about the peculiarities of understanding the meaning of the
concept of patriotism, the following answers were received. 48.8% of the respondents answered that
they would find out the content of this concept on their own, either on the basis of experience or on the
basis of reasoning. 25.9% of respondents (representatives of generation Z) answered that they would
be guided by the opinion of experts. And only 9% of respondents would discuss this issue when meeting
with friends or online. Thus, the frequency distribution of these responses allows us to conclude that
generation Z predominantly seeks to penetrate the meaning of basic concepts either independently or
based on the opinion of experts, which means that it is capable of making independent and balanced
decisions. When asked how representatives of generation Z interpret such abstract concepts as
"homeland", "religion", "humanism" 36.3% of the respondents answered that they do it with the help
of concepts and formal logic; 27.9% visualize these concepts; 22.9% try to present these concepts
intuitively and 11.4% represent some kind of visual and sound object. Thus, we can conclude that
Generation Z has a penchant for analytical thinking, but not in the overwhelming majority. The
hypothetical situation regarding the preparation of a report on the topic of comparative analysis of
market and command economies assumed the identification of a tendency towards independence in the
formation of a new product of knowledge. 40.3% of respondents answered that in order to prepare this
182 PART 1: Internet Psychology
material, they will read some serious books and refer to primary sources. 33.8% of respondents
answered that they would limit themselves to reading articles on the Internet. 15.9% of respondents said
they would read books "diagonally". 5.5% will base their talk on short retellings of books. Based on
this distribution, we can conclude that, in general, students strive to gain solid knowledge for presenting
a report on a new and complex topic, however, due to time constraints, they make rational decisions
about preparing reports based on more accessible sources from the Internet.
The next question in the questionnaire concerned decision-making in conditions of diametrically
opposite points of view. It was formulated in relation to the acceptability of euthanasia, which was
“discussed” in classroom and online. The question was how the panelists define a valid point of view.
According to the answers of the respondents, 57.7% of them will adhere to the results obtained during
the discussion in the group, 20.4% of the respondents trust the results of the discussion with fellow
students after classes. And only 11.9% will rely on the results of online discussion. Thus, in spite of
their “phygital” characteristic [19], most representatives of generation Z build an idea of the world and
make judgments obtained as a result of real interaction and discussion, where the presence of social
capital plays an important role. The question of discussing the problem of animal welfare assumed the
identification of the position of representatives of generation Z regarding the possibility of multiple
opinions. The situation when many opinions appeared in the course of the discussion may be associated
with the possibility of the simultaneous existence of several correct opinions. This was the answer of
39.8% of the respondents. 26.9% of respondents came to the conclusion that any opinion can only be
partially true. 25.9% of respondents answered that opinion is always subjective and it is pointless to
seek the truth. And only 7% said that there is always one correct opinion. This distribution allows us to
conclude that the young generation is ready for discussion and the development of deliberative
democracy [20].
Other Difficult to say
8% 2%
I trust the
discussion on the
Internet
12%
I trust the
discussion in the
I trust a classroom
conversation with 58%
classmates after
class
20%
Figure 1: Trust in the Results of the Euthanasia Discussion
When asked about the acceptability of the ideologies of the past for modern society, 44.8% of the
respondents concluded that, in general, these ideologies are suitable, but they need significant
transformation. 38.3% of respondents concluded that they are suitable only in certain cases. 9.5% came
to the conclusion that they are not like. 6% of the respondents said that these ideologies are completely
suitable. Thus, we can conclude that the student part of generation Z is developing critical thinking, and
they are ready for a conscious transformation of the social reality surrounding them in the present and
the future.
Our empirical results confirm that representatives of generation Z consider the independence of
decision-making to be the most significant setting, the importance of the opinions of friends and experts
depends on the importance of the subject under consideration. So, when analyzing the answers to the
question of what happiness is and how to find an answer to it, it was revealed that the majority of the
surveyed representatives of the phygital generation (62.2%) prefer to independently determine the main
IMS-2021. International Conference “Internet and Modern Society” 183
content of the concept of "happiness" based on their own experience and based on their reasoning.
Zoomers are not afraid to follow their dreams, their ideas about "happiness" as their ideal are formed
independently, since they are free from psychological clamps, prejudices and stereotypes: they do not
delegate decision-making to experts (18.9%), although there is trust in expert opinion (8.5%) and least
of all (5%) are inclined to discuss with friends. Independence in decision-making is clearly traced in
the answers to questions about choosing a specialty for planning a career and about the possibility of
using soft drugs - the absolute majority (65.7% and 78.6%, respectively) will make a decision on their
own. The complexity of their perception of expert opinion can be traced in the answers to these
questions. They will listen to the opinion of experts only on drug use (15.9%), and the opinion of experts
on the labor market (8.0%) will be less preferable for them than the opinion of their relatives (13.4%),
which indicates the importance of the role family, its values for Generation Z, as well as distrust of
experts in the labor market.
I will listen to the I'll listen to the Other
opinion of experts opinion leaders on 3%
on the labor the Internet
market 1%
8%
I will consult with
my relatives
13%
I'll consult with my
acquaintances
2%
Посо
2% I make up my mind
I only consult my by myself
best friends 66%
5%
Figure 2: Choosing a future career
In general, this confirms the results of the empirical study of 2019-2020 that we obtained, which
determined that “the predominance of individualistic attitudes (self-expression, building a career) in the
profile of a typical representative of generation Z in Russia allows us to speak of the formation of“
generation I ”in Russia, but with Russian specifics, since the behavioral profile is not free from
collectivism attitudes (mutual assistance - 24%, empathy - 13%), which ranked second and fourth in
the value system of representatives of generation Z, respectively ”[18, p. 109]. The answer to the
question about the importance of the opinions of other participants in the interaction testifies to the
independence of the younger generation, and confirms the results obtained in the 2019-2020 studies,
when, according to the survey, 74% of the participants took into account the opinion of others when
making a decision, but put their own opinion [18, p. 109]. And, what is important, it destroys the myth
about the priority of the importance of Internet communication in their lives - according to data from
2020-2021. from 1% (with people of varying degrees of closeness) to 5% (with close friends) are ready
to discuss personal problems on the Internet.
Freedom of buzzers from psychological clamps, prejudices and stereotypes, the desire to find their
own special new paths, as well as a lack of inclination to take risks, make them prone to organic growth
and smooth transformations. Especially important for them are the values they share, including ecology,
tolerance, etc. At the same time, their trust in official information has not yet been finally formed, and
in answers to the question about making a decision about getting a job in a company with opposite
characteristics - on the basis of official data and the opinion of acquaintances (48.8%) or a view of the
problem of a representative of their generation (35.8%), - priority opinions are practically not defined.
The time has come for a new generation, which itself chooses an employer, people for whom not only
and not so much a brand is important as reputation, attitude to the values shared by Generation Z.
184 PART 1: Internet Psychology
Many theories of the problems of integrating buzzers into business processes are built on one of the
most common myths about Gen Z. We are talking about the so-called "translation difficulties"
associated with the fact that zetas have a different perception of the communication process itself due
to access to unlimited communication in social networks. But the Z-generation, communicating with
everyone on an equal footing and highlighting this as a value, nevertheless understand the framework
and boundaries of the hierarchy, which is expressed, in particular, in relation to the use of slang outside
of subcultural communication, which was shown by the data of our survey. The majority of the surveyed
students (76.1%) showed an understanding of the inadmissibility of using subcultural words as a
deviation in the changing conditions of interaction on the example of using slang in a conversation with
a teacher. An understanding of the presence of linguistic cultural norms of interaction was shown by
many students (15.9%). Since it is culture that determines the participants in communication, the choice
of topics and communication strategies, the context, the way of transmitting messages, the way of
encoding and decoding, etc., understanding the regulated norms and those not recommended
demonstrates the involvement of Z representatives in the general cultural context and removes the
question of "translation difficulties". In the collision of cultural manifestations, both verbal and non-
verbal, specific features that are not recognized in intracultural communication become obvious. This
confirms the system of factors A.A. Leontiev, determining the national-cultural linguistic specifics
(factors associated with cultural tradition: permissions and prohibitions, stereotyped, reproducible acts
of communication; etiquette characteristics of universal acts of communication, role and socio-
symbolic features of communication; factors associated with the social situation and communication
functions: functional sublanguages and etiquette forms; factors related to the social situation in the
narrow sense; factors determined by the specifics of the language of a given community) [21].
Also of interest is the relationship to political ideology and economic policy. As the study showed,
the phygital generation is not positively oriented towards these topics, their interest is rather unstable,
which can be characterized not only by the preferred answer for 34.3%: “If there is a mood, then I can
read about something like that”, but also specific answers about interest in articles on these topics on
the Internet (26.4%) and books (18.4%); In total, 19% reported varying degrees of “no interest” or,
which means roughly the same, view them “diagonally”. This is vividly illustrated by K. Sobchak's
interview with the popular tiktoker Danya Milokhin, 19 years old, 10 million subscribers, on YouTube
on December 20, 2020. The presenter asks him the question: "Why doesn't your generation go to
rallies?" To which Danya replies: “I am not against them, but not for them either. I stand on the sidelines
and do not want to climb, I am not interested in. I do not try to understand this and do not want to fill
my brain with this unnecessary information” [22].
The study of students of St. Petersburg universities showed that extremism and radicalism are also
not typical for generation Z. As noted by 64.7% of respondents, "such statements are inadmissible as
much as they are inadmissible in real communication." The results of the survey confirm the
conclusions of the study “Russian “Generation Z”: Attitudes and Values” conducted by the Friedrich
Ebert Foundation: “Political apathy is widespread. Many young people (almost 60%) are not interested
at all or are very little interested in politics. At the same time, they practically do not have confidence
in the national institutions of power. Only 26% trust the government, 16% trust political parties, 25%
trust the State Duma. The level of confidence in the president of the country is relatively high (42%)”
[23].
The study of students showed that the level of trust in close friends is high - 66.2% are ready to share
personal problems, in contrast to 18.4% of those who answered that they would not discuss it with
others. At the same time, only 5% of respondents will share their personal friends on the Internet. In
general, the myth about the priority or parity of the virtual world in comparison with the real world is
destroyed by the answers of the surveyed students - representatives of generation Z - only 5.0% will
discuss the philosophical question “what is happiness” with friends on the Internet; 5.0% - personal
problems; 1% will listen to opinion leaders on the Internet about choosing a career path.
The conducted empirical research reveals positive trends in the formation of the reflective habit of
generation Z. The digital generation demonstrates greater independence in the development of
meanings in the process of social construction of reality. In doing so, they rely on serious literary
sources and expert advice if they need to form an opinion on an important issue. Virtualization changes
Gen Z communication, but does not have a significant negative impact on it. Advice from “opinion
leaders” on the Internet is decisive for only a small proportion of young people.
IMS-2021. International Conference “Internet and Modern Society” 185
5. Features of the construction of social reality by generation Z
The study of the features of the social capital of representatives of the “generation of gadgets” in the
context of the increasing digitalization of social interaction was carried out on the basis of Bourdieu's
theory. The main term in Bourdieu's theory that is most useful for interpreting social interaction is
milleu. Since this term can be successfully used in interdisciplinary research, it has significant
epistemological value for the study of the characteristics of the younger generation. The term “milleu”
was used in his works by Durkheim [24, p. 233], however, Durkheim interpreted milieu from the
standpoint of a systems approach, assessing the number of elements of this system and the nature of
their interconnection.
From the point of view of Bourdieu, milieu is a more multifaceted term that combines both social
characteristics and the characteristics of physical space [8]. According to Bourdieu, mileu consists of
several types of capital. It combines traditional, financial capital with symbolic or cultural capital and
social ties, which are also a kind of capital. This concept is integrative, since one type of capital allows
one to interpret only a certain narrow aspect of the social characteristics of an individual. For example,
if a person is very rich, but he does not have a sufficient level of education, then he will not become a
full-fledged participant in communication among rich individuals. These three aspects of the social
characteristics of the individual, combined by Bourdieu into a single concept of "milieu", form a certain
generalizing characteristic of the individual. In the publications of European scientists, the term
"milieu" is often used synonymously with the concept of lifestyle. Throughout the sociology of
Bourdieu, the term "milieu" occupies a central place, also combining such terms as habit and reflexivity.
The multifaceted nature of the term "milieu" makes it a suitable tool for studying the characteristics
of a generation of gadgets, since this generation lives in conditions of both virtual and traditional social
interaction. From the point of view of Generation Z, there is no dichotomy of “real” and “virtual”, these
two spheres form a single communicative space. At the same time, in order to study real-virtual social
interaction, it is necessary to have some point of contact between these communication spaces, and in
Bourdieu's sociology, such a point is habitus, which is understood as “systems of stable, interchangeable
dispositions, structured structures predisposed to function as structuring structures, that is, as principles
that generate and organize practices and representations” [25, p. 153].
One of the main features of habitus is the purposeful nature of its formation. Living in society, the
individual intentionally acquires certain objective and subjective characteristics. For the generation of
gadgets, digital characteristics, the image of an individual in virtual space, become the most important
characteristics of habit.
Another reason why the concept of “mile” is successful for studying the features of interaction
between representatives of the generation of gadgets in a virtual environment is the increasing role of
cultural differentiation.
If in traditional social interaction vertical characteristics play a decisive role, that is, an individual's
belonging to a certain class and stratum, his place in the hierarchical structure of inequality, then in
conditions of virtual interaction, the vertical characteristics of an individual are not obvious. In the
context of digital interaction, a representative of generation Z can mislead interlocutors, present himself
as a richer and more status member of society. In these conditions, the horizontal characteristics of the
individual begin to play a much greater role, that is, his certain cultural characteristics are not associated
with inequality.
Bourdieu's sociological legacy contains the concept of social fields, which may also be useful for
studying Generation Z in the context of digital interaction. Under the social field, Bourdieu understood
a certain area of social reality, which is characterized by the predominance of a certain type of social
capital. So in the conditions of the political social field, social ties will prevail, while in the academic
field, the symbolic type of capital will become the predominant type - knowledge [26]. In relation to
each other, social fields can be relatively independent since the participants in each field have specific
goals and interests. When studying any social processes or interactions, it is important to understand in
which social roles they occur.
Representatives of certain groups or social classes will interact in a special way in different social
fields. The difference between the virtual space lies in the fact that it forms, as it were, a single social
field in which the differences between representatives of certain classes decrease. For this reason, the
186 PART 1: Internet Psychology
most important aspect of the milieu in the virtual space is the cultural capital of the individual. Since
we are witnessing an increasing digitalization of social interaction in all spheres of social life, it is
logical to assume that cultural capital, as part of the milieu, will play an increasingly important role in
the life of every individual. For representatives of the generation of gadgets, this circumstance opens
up great prospects. Although they do not have significant financial capital or high social status.
6. Discussion, conclusion, perspectives
The research results give a very clear picture of the construction of social reality by representatives
of generation Z. The data obtained in the course of the study represent the image of the “zoomer” as a
“good citizen”, inclined to independence in decision-making, rational-critical discussion and gaining
knowledge. The knowledge, abilities, skills and perceptions acquired by “digital natives” as a result of
interaction with physical reality turn out to be more significant than the same competencies, but
acquired in the virtual world. Gen Z representatives generally do not support extremist ideas, and the
authority of teachers and educators is practically unshakable.
On the other hand, the research results reveal a number of social disfunctions of representatives of
generation Z, in particular, the lack of self-criticism. The respondents show a readiness to criticize
others, information from the Internet, the actions of authorities and economic agents, but, apparently,
do not criticize themselves and their own opinions, their position, their actions. This probably speaks
of a general trend associated with the humanization of public relations and greater concern for the
protection of human and civil rights and freedoms, but it also speaks of the prevailing model of
perception of social reality that corresponds to a certain generally accepted standard. The survey
focused mainly on students, who probably consider studying at a university as a necessary and important
process in the formation of a personality, so important that it is not questioned. This may also be related
to the age of students, which largely depends on the opinions of parents and teachers. But this is largely
due to digitalization - the possibility of self-expression through social networks. Self-PR excludes self-
criticism.
An uncritical attitude towards self-promotion means opens up almost unlimited trust in "smart"
devices and platforms. “Digital natives” deserve such a name, since the fusion of oneself with the
technical world gives rise to a curious phenomenon – a phygital or, more precisely, psychotechnical
reality, a view of society and the world around us through the prism of an information bubble that
surrounds a person. These are full-fledged socio-technical systems in which natural and artificial
intelligences mutually enrich each other.
It is difficult to answer the question of how such a situation will affect the quantity and quality of
various types of capital, if we follow the ideas of P. Bourdieu. While social capital flows from the
physical to the virtual world, civil and cultural capital can increase. Individualization and atomization
can foster an increased focus on civic engagement and creativity. An increase in the level of education
can also lead to participation in cultural production and reproduction, which affects the level of cultural
capital only positively.
Also, at the moment, there is no definite answer to the nature of the mutual influence of the
involvement of representatives of generation Z in the virtual world on innovative activity. On the one
hand, the growing volumes of information used by "buzzers" should create a positive dynamic of
creative capital. However, on the other - and probably more important - side, the choice of the
information consumed, the quality of the content is of fundamental importance, and here, most likely,
the fundamental influence of the Internet on creativity will not be found.
Summing up the research, it should be noted that the topic of social capital of generation Z is far
from being completed and developed. A more detailed and detailed study of the social capital of
generation Z is the scientific task of the team of authors in the near future.
IMS-2021. International Conference “Internet and Modern Society” 187
7. Acknowledgements
The study was conducted under support the "Center for Sociological and Internet Research at SPBU
Science Park" resource center (the project No. 106-14771). This work was financially supported by the
Russian Scientific Foundation, grant No. 19-18-00210 “Political ontology of digitalization: a study of
the institutional foundations of digital formats of state governance”.
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