Social networks as a space for the formation of a “hybrid public sphere”
Research Article
How to Cite
Akhmedova K.B. Social networks as a space for the formation of a “hybrid public sphere”. Humanities of the South of Russia. 2026. Vol. 15. No. 2. P. 24-35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18522/2227-8656.2026.2.2 (in Russ.).
Abstract
The aim of the study is to learn the process of transformation of the public sphere in the context of digitalization.
Methodological basis of the study is grounded on a critical understanding of Jürgen Habermas's classical theory of the public sphere, which serves as the normative reference point for the work. The author consistently reveals the limitations of this model, as identified in philosophical critiques (N. Fraser, M. Foucault), and demonstrates how these limitations are exacerbated in the age of social media.
The results of the study. Digital platforms shape a fundamentally new, hybrid public sphere, characterized by the blurring of boundaries between private and public, rational and affective. Based on theoretical analysis and empirical data, the author identifies the key consequences of this transformation: deep fragmentation of public discourse and ideological polarization, the emergence of “echo chambers,” the ambivalent growth of digital activism, an epistemological crisis associated with the spread of disinformation, and a change in the status of the individual. The conclusion is that the hybrid public sphere is a complex and contradictory phenomenon that requires a rethinking of classical concepts of democracy and the development of new mechanisms capable to strengthen its democratic potential.
The prospects of the study are related to the subsequent sociological reflection of this field.
Keywords:
public sphere, hybrid public sphere, Jürgen Habermas, social media, digital transformation, public discourse
References
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Bakshy E., Messing, S., Adamic, L. A. Exposure to ideologically diverse news and opinion on Facebook. Science. 2015; 348 (6239): 1130–1132.
Fraser N. Rethinking the Public Sphere: A Contribution to the Critique of Actually Existing Democracy. Social Text. 1990; 25/26: 56–80.
Garnham N. The Media and the Public Sphere. In “Habermas and the Public Sphere”. Ed. by C. Calhoun. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 1992: 359–376.
Landes J.B. Women and the Public Sphere in the Age of the French Revolution. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 1988; 275 p.
Zorina M.A. The Concept and Role of Fake News in the Russian Media Space Molodoj uchenyj = Young Scientist. 2025; 5 (556): 314-317. (In Russ.)
Mihajlenok O.M., Malysheva G.A. The political effects of social media in Russia. Sociologicheskie issledovaniya = Sociological research. 2019; 2: 8-87. DOI 10.31857/S013216250004012-6 (In Russ.)
Sorokina M.D., Michurova A.S., Dvoryaninova S.A., Emets E.A. The Influence of Personalization Algorithms on the Audience and Privacy in Media Communications. Teorii i problemy politicheskih issledovanij = Theories and Problems of Political Research. 2024; 13 (7A): 73-80 (In Russ.)
Uebster F. Theories of the information society / F. Uebster; Trans. From Eng. – M.: Aspekt Press. 2004; 400 p. (In Russ.)
Flyvbierg V. Habermas and Foucault: thinkers for civil society? Flyvbierg В. Habermas and Foucault: thinkers for civil society? // Brit. J. of Sociology. – L., 1998. Vol. 49. No. 2. P. 210-233. (In Russ.)
Fomichev P. N. 99. 03. 004. Flivbjerg B. Habermas and Foucault: thinkers for civil society? Flyvbierg V. Habermas and Foucault: thinkers for civil society? // Brit. J. of Sociology. – L., 1998. Vol. 49. No. 2. P. 210-233. Social Sciences and Humanities. Domestic and Foreign Literature. Series 11, Sociology = Social and humanitarian Sciences. Domestic and foreign literature. Series 11, Sociology. 1999; 3: 25-30. (In Russ.)
Habermas Yu. Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: A Study of the Category of Bourgeois Society. Trans. from Germ. A. N. Panchenko. M.: Moskovskij gosudarstvennyj universitet = M.: Moscow State University. 1990; 332 p. (In Russ.)
Habermas Yu. Theory of communicative action. In 2 vols. / Trans from Germ. A. N. Panchenko. M.: Izdatel'stvo "Ves' mir" = M.: Publishing House "Ves Mir". Vol. 1. Rationality of Action and Social Rationalization; Vol. 2. Towards a Critique of Functionalist Reason. 2022; 834 p. (In Russ.)
Shejh S. Fragmentation of the public sphere and its criticism. Theory and Practice. 2009; 4: 45-52. (In Russ.)
Bakshy E., Messing, S., Adamic, L. A. Exposure to ideologically diverse news and opinion on Facebook. Science. 2015; 348 (6239): 1130–1132.
Fraser N. Rethinking the Public Sphere: A Contribution to the Critique of Actually Existing Democracy. Social Text. 1990; 25/26: 56–80.
Garnham N. The Media and the Public Sphere. In “Habermas and the Public Sphere”. Ed. by C. Calhoun. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 1992: 359–376.
Landes J.B. Women and the Public Sphere in the Age of the French Revolution. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 1988; 275 p.
Article
Received: 02.02.2026
Accepted: 23.04.2026
Citation Formats
Other cite formats:
APA
Akhmedova, K. B. (2026). Social networks as a space for the formation of a “hybrid public sphere”. Humanities of the South of Russia, 15(2), 24-35. https://doi.org/10.18522/2227-8656.2026.2.2
Section
PHILOSOPHY AND SOCIETY
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