Overproduction of “trolls”

Use of the Internet has become for Ukraine, as well as for other developing countries, a necessity of life. This is the conclusion drawn by the laboratory ConsumerLab of the Ericsson Company, which conducted a study of consumer preferences in the use of telecommunication products and services in Ukraine. The analysis allowed to make an outline of the image of a Ukrainian consumer. In particular, the study has shown that more than a half of population in Ukrainian cities (59 percent) has access to broadband Internet. According to the study, Internet usage is as technically advanced as in other developed markets, let’s say in Russia (72 percent), Germany (61 percent), and Italy (52 percent). Besides, the usage of Internet and dependence on it grow with every year. The experts expect this tendency to increase with time because people are actively transferring their everyday activities and private correspondence online. Interestingly, 68 percent of the Internet users in Ukrainian cities use social networks every week (in Great Britain this figure is 63 percent and in the USA – 62 percent) and 28 percent are using Skype or similar services of IP-telephony for communication, at least, once a week (Great Britain – 20 percent, the USA – 19 percent).

The study was conducted in May through June of 2011. The total number of 500 respondents aged 15 to 69 from Kyiv, Lviv, and Donetsk took part in the poll in the form of personal interviews. Such a sample, according to the experts, is enough to assess the general situation. According to their calculations, it reflects opinion of nearly 3.4 million people, including all social groups.

What other similar characteristics between Ukrainian and foreign users can be distinguished? Unfortunately, the issue of the quality of Ukrainian Internet audience is not considered in the study of ConsumerLab. Because, even if we take into account the Ukrainian segment of social networks, not all members are concerned about social and political problems, not all are actively engaged in philosophical discussions. Many users of social networks remain the level of everyday matters. Taking into account the revolution of “Internet hamsters” and “creative class” in Russia, the question about the number but about the quality of our Internet audience becomes more relevant. How does its quality differ from Russian, European, and Arabic audience? Is it possible that this virtual community will give way to something more substantial in social and political life? Yes, these people are for sure technically advanced but what views do they have? They could be having post-Soviet views with all the consequences. Are those “Internet hamsters” capable of straightening their backs and becoming a civil society – not in the sense of going on the streets with posters and slogans, but in the sense of understanding their own country and becoming aware of their responsibility?

Too many questions. The only thing we can say with full confidence is that there is more and more transparency now. The events of 2011, the numerous protests around the globe (and Ukraine was not an exception here) have proven it. As it is well-known, social networks have played their role in it.

Social networks are, indeed, only an instrument. The Day wrote about it many times. But since in present-time Ukraine the majority of mass media and especially television remains blocked for reaching high plank, could social networks become a platform for developing new senses of the abovementioned alternative?

“Social networking can be a tool for spreading of such an alternative, but it has to be developed by political powers and their staffs,” said Viktor RYBACHENKO, vice president of the Association of Political Psychologist. “After all, no matter how many protest moods there will be, social psychology suggests that they should be channeled in certain ordered flows. They have to be organized and they must be lead by prominent personalities. By the way, recently there has been an active discussion held about the idea that the united lists from oppositions should be toped by people of high level, for example, some call the name of Lina Kostenko. This suggests that policy makers understand their limitations at this stage, loss of people’s trust, and that you can not raise a mass protest using the usual political methods, slogans, and even familiar faces. However, it is true that society can respect moral authorities and we have people like that, but only a politician can lead a political protest. If a person wouldn’t follow one politician, it does not mean that he will not follow some other politician. The question is where should we take such political alternative? Here social networks play a great role, because they teach to communicate. Since the times of the Soviet Union our society has been primarily based on vertical relations and the level of self-organization has been low. Thanks to social networks the self-organization improves. Horizontal relations help to develop the ability of society for self-organization without waiting for a shepherd-organizer, leader, or commander. We should acknowledge that at first they are not very good at it. If you’d want to evaluate the quality of Ukrainian Internet by, let say, blogging, comments, and forums, you’d note a great number of low-quality and poor culture comments. However, one should understand that deliberate attack on Ukrainian internet connections and the quality of Ukrainian horizontal social ties is in progress. Some of the political forces have their own teams of, so-called, ‘trolls,’ who post rude comments, cursing, offences in forums to distract people’s attention from the essence of the problem. Unfortunately, Internet community still buys such messages and it leads discussions beyond intellectual limits. Don’t be surprised, but I think that ‘trolls’ are also useful. They are like an immunization. Unless we learn to deepen meaningful comments, we won’t be able to step up. I appreciate even the odious social networks like Odnoklassniki and Vkontakte, because they simply teach to make contact. At some point these channels, now filled with small things, will become full of serious matters. It is important that by that time these channels will be already worked out.”

Even if such websites as Odnoklassniki would eventually grow into platforms for essential discussions, it doesn’t eliminate the need to create new quality standards in networking, which will withstand the overproduction of “trolls” and be attractive to thinkers.