Communication Practices of Ukrainians in Social Networks: Active Contributors or Passive Readers?

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to find out the most common types of activities of Ukrainian users on Telegram, Instagram, and Facebook and the peculiarities of using such communication practices as posts and comments.

Research methodology. The following general scientific methods were used to prepare the article: literature analysis in accordance with the purpose and objectives of the study; a survey using a Google form (a total sample of 877 respondents-users of social networks aged 16 and older), descriptive and graphical methods to describe the survey results and visualize them in the form of graphs, a method of systematic analysis and generalization to record the main activities of Ukrainians on the social networks Telegram, Instagram and Facebook and to identify the features of posts and comments as communication practices.

Results. The following main activities of Telegram users have been identified: communication with friends and relatives in private chats and reading news on the relevant channels. On Instagram and Facebook, the most popular social networks among Ukrainians, the following sequence of activities of their users was established (from the most popular to the least used): reading with likes, writing posts, checking comments on a post, writing comments, creating short videos, checking the reaction of the author of a post to a comment.

For the majority of respondents, social networks serve as electronic diaries, as users most often write posts based on their own news - personal or professional news, achievements and awards; to express their own opinion on certain events or phenomena; to share joy about personal holidays and to publish the results of their own creativity. Much less frequently, the reasons for writing posts are the desire to collect aid for the military or victims of military operations; the desire to speak out about an event that «touches the heart» or the desire to develop one's own brand. The commenting strategy is very similar: respondents most often comment on the successes and achievements of their friends, followed by atmospheric posts, condolences and encouragement, and posts on relevant professional topics.

If a discussion breaks out under a post, one-third of the authors will moderate it, responding to all constructive comments and remarks. As for the frequency of writing posts, about 17% of respondents produce the main content (from several times a day to 3–4 times a week). At the same time, a little more than 20% of respondents do not post at all.

Novelty. The study was the first to identify possible user activities on Telegram, Instagram, and Facebook and to determine which of these activities are more common for respondents and which are relatively rare. The survey was also aimed at finding out the informational reasons for writing posts on social media, determining the role of post authors as moderators of discussions that may break out under these posts, and identifying the types of posts under which users are potentially ready to write a comment. In addition, one of the questions in the questionnaire helped to clarify the question of how often users post on their own social media pages and what percentage of users do not post at all.

Practical significance. We see the practical significance of the results obtained in the possibility of their application within the framework of academic disciplines for students of the specialty 061 «Journalism». Also, the results on the activities and communication practices of Ukrainians in social networks will be useful for media professionals working on these platforms.

Key words: social networks, Telegram, Instagram, Facebook, user activities, communication practices, posts, comments.