The role and importance of social capital in rural development

A fundamentally new characteristic of the policy in relation to the development of rural areas is the achievement of a high standard of living of the rural population due to non-material factors of development, namely, the quality of the social environment and the state of the environment. In the new model of rural development, the main element is social capital and the level of development of rural social networks based on Internet technologies. Digitalization contributes to the active involvement of the rural population of Russia in network social interaction. Social networks are more important for rural residents than for urban residents, since they neutralize the territorial disunity of villages and provide access to information. They become a structural component of social capital, a condition and factor of its formation and reproduction. However, the level of digitalization in rural areas remains insufficient and is significantly inferior to urban areas. The development and improvement of social capital contributes to the use of hidden intangible resources, the disclosure of the potential of rural areas, the growth of its competitiveness, the formation of economic and social ties.