Nikovskaya L.I. Trends in the transformation of social subjectivity: from living reality to an online format of manifestation. Central Russian Journal of Social Sciences. 2026. Vol. 21. No. 2. Pp. 11-29. EDN NOPKHM.

Текст статьи на сайте журнала URL: https://orelvestnik.ru/index.php/srvon/article/view/344 (дата обращения 28.09.2026)

Abstract

The mosaic-like nature and high mobility of the new subjectivity in the first quarter of the 21st century are not only a consequence of structural phenomena associated with the growing fragmentation and poly-subjectivity of the social structure of the late 20th century, but also a result of the rapid development of network relations and technologies. Under these conditions, the classical hierarchical model, based on the state’s monopoly on information and decision‑making, gives way to a network paradigm. The key problem for researchers is the need to understand how new network actors — from bloggers to spontaneous network communities and movements — seize communicative power and how the traditional subject structure and institutional environment respond to this pressure. New network actors are bearers of a specific subjectivity that is based not on formal status, but on trust capital, the use of social services, presence in the online space, network organization, and the ability to instantly mobilize public attention. In the networked era, the “public” becomes a space of constant negotiation, where the state is forced to compete for the “agenda” with numerous autonomous nodes of the Network, thereby demonstrating recognition of the fact that we have entered an era of the real formation of network public policy. This inevitably requires a fundamental revision of management approaches. State institutions must abandon the illusion that network public policy can be fully incorporated into a rigid power vertical without losing its essential qualities — flexibility, trust, and innovativeness. Delegating part of the authority to shape the “agenda” to independent network actors, guaranteeing their security, and demonopolizing algorithms is not a concession of sovereignty, but a necessary condition for the survival and adaptability of the political system in the context of a increasingly complex information society. The effectiveness of the modern political system in Russia will directly depend on the government’s willingness to recognize the agency of new network actors and provide them with a protected space for their activities. Only through the demonopolization of the digital environment and the restoration of mechanisms of organic trust is it possible to build a capable public sphere capable of adequately responding to the challenges of the complex, transitional, and dynamically developing network society of the 21st century.