Representation of National Identity on the Net

Abstract

Introduction . The purpose of the article is to study and construct the typology of situations of the national identity actualization of young people in the digital space. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the study of the constructing national identity process as a result of the assimilation of institutional nation-building, passed through the filters of personal attitudes, that can be observed in the variability of representing national identity ways in various social situations. The relevance is conditioned by modern socio-political conditions and the need for in-depth study of the category of national identity. Methodology and sources . The research methodology is based on the approaches of social constructivism (the nation as an “imaginary community” by B. Anderson), symbolic interactionism (the dramatic approach of I. Goffmann), ethno-symbolism (everyday nationalism of J. Hutchinson) and memory studies (cultural memory of J. Assman). The research method is a discourse analysis of blogs in TikTok and Instagram, the unit of analysis is a blog as a case, sample size made up 127 cases. The collection of empirical data took place from 01.26.2022 to 03.10.2022. Results and discussion . The digital space provides the conditions for the maximum degree of intensity of the national identity representation, which can be represented in social networks by a wide variety of forms (costume, text, music, image, scenery, etc.). The following types of representation of national identity in the network have been identified: national identity as a “profession”, as “fandom”, national identity in the context of constant updating (migrants, intercultural marriage), in the context of everyday life, situational national identity, lack of a specific national identity. Conclusion . The conducted empirical research allows to construct the typology of situations of national identity of young people representations in the network. The typology is based on the degree of intensity of national identity representation. The typology can be represented as a continuum, on one pole of which there is a vivid representation of national identity, on the other - an active blurring and confusion of national markers.