Social networking sites as promotion and public relations tools in the information society – development perspectives
The article aims to familiarize with the development of the Internet as a means of communication and promotion tool as well as public relations in contemporary global society and the society of electronic media. The share of electronic channels in interpersonal communication is constantly growing, becoming a dominant way of media communication in the world. This does not mean that it will be the only way of communication, but it should be noted that it will be the dominant one. The article attempts to approximate the issue of the development of new media in terms of statistics and quantity, but also because of the demographics and geographical location of users. It shows the structures and possibilities as well as potential ways of media development in the future. The statistics come from research centers mainly from the United States of America. The analysis covers general issues of social media, mainly social media portals and their scale of impact on the global society. It should be noted that the attitude of enterprises to society has changed. Thanks to better data, more detailed advertising parameters and a growing user base, social media is one of the ways to invest. Adaptation of social media by older people is constantly growing – which means that more companies can benefit from ads targeted directly to this group. When choosing a social network to advertise, make sure that the adoption of social media by the target age group is high.

Wartime memes as a coping strategy

Memes are a unit of information in the socio-cultural field. Ukrainian memes and their number increased until March 10-15, after which their number began to decrease. The aim of our study was to analyze memes for compliance with their coping strategies. The analysis and systematization of 370 units of memes created in Ukraine in the period from February 25, 2022 to March 31, 2022 was used. Of the memes considered, purely text memes accounted for 60%: meme words (rashists, Huylo, Chornobaivka, palyanytsia), meme phrases (Russian ship), meme expressions (Good evening, we are from Ukraine!). Creolized or mixed memes (picture and signature) accounted for 33%. Image only – 7% In the first days after the start of the war, memes appeared related to the desire to resist the enemy. When analyzing memes and comparing them with coping strategies, it was found that memes with constructive coping strategies predominate among Ukrainian wartime memes. The style of memes (semi-productive) is also widely used, which is aimed at finding support and restoring psycho-emotional balance. Memes of this type began to appear 2–3 weeks after the start of hostilities and are small (10-12%) of the total number of images. They reflect relationships between people, experiences related to separation from family members, attempts at complacency. According to a number of memes, the people of Ukraine are trying to overcome their anxiety not in a passive way, but by understanding the environment, which can also be perceived as a sufficiently adequate coping strategy. Attitude to such horrific events as shelling and bombing with a sufficient amount of humor allows you to master yourself in new military circumstances. The culture of memes has not escaped the problems of refugees and internally displaced persons. This issue is small and calls for understanding and compassion for refugees. Unlike typical memes, this image is not anonymous, but it has also spread widely on the Internet and has become a meme. Unproductive coping is either not represented in wartime meme culture at all, or it is ridiculed and perceived as clearly inappropriate behavior.