The Influence of the Internet on the Socialization of Youth

A constant presence in the Internet contributes to its influence on the processes of socialization of young people. The former institutions of socialization are partly destroyed or lose their significance. New institutions have been studied fragmentarily and are not yet systematically comprehended. An attempt to understand the mechanisms of the Internet influence on the socialization of youth is made. The psychological and socio-pedagogical mechanisms of socialization, as well as considered in the context of virtual socialization of young people are specified. To the characteristic psychological mechanisms of socialization by means of the Internet network are referred existential pressure, imitation, identification, reflection. The traditional socio-pedagogical mechanism has become less characteristic even for residents of small settlements, and the prevailing mechanisms of virtual socialization are stylized, institutional, and interpersonal. A number of approaches highlighting the stages of Internet socialization are analyzed. It is stated that in connection with the intensive informatization of society and a significant decrease in the age of the first access to the Internet, the pre-Internet stage of virtual socialization of young people is not relevant. The Internet factors of socialization, allowing to “smooth out” geographical features, namely: social networks, cloud technologies, media Internet environment, leisure services, online forums and chats, electronic scientific conferences and forums, expert networks, digital libraries, resources of “E-government” for professional and social problems decision, the use of online banking.