Research Journal of Human and Social Aspects

Research Journal of Human and Social Aspects

Key Models of Political Communication among Young People in the Context of Digitalization

The article formulates the main factors determining the construction of political communication among young people today. In this regard, some modern conditions, in which the formation of a civic position and political socialization of the younger generation takes place, are identified as well. First, these are the processes of in-formatization, digitalization, psychological destructurization, and manipulation that explane certain problems and potential conflicts, additionally determine the ideological, value, and behavioral characteristics of youth communication. With this in view, six pivotal models of young people political communication at the present stage are developed. The authors conclude regarding the need to strengthen youth self-awareness and search for effective ways to form the national and state identity among young people as applied to this issue. Particular focus is placed on such notion that whatever the choice of a specific model is, it is important to handle any cat-egories of national security and state entirety.

“It keeps me close to my family”

This study examines the role of social media in the adaptation and acculturation experiences of African graduate students in the United States. While research on international students has focused on academic, cultural, and social challenges, limited attention has been given to how digital platforms shape everyday adjustment, particularly among African students. Drawing on social support theory, acculturation theory, and transnational perspectives, this study explores how social media functions within students’ lived experiences of migration. Using a qualitative design, in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 African graduate students from countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Cameroon, and Sierra Leone at a public U.S. university. Thematic analysis revealed that social media supports family connections, emotional coping, information seeking, and network building. The findings suggest that social media enables ongoing transnational engagement, allowing students to remain connected to home while adapting to new environments, highlighting its central role in contemporary adaptation processes.

Stigma and Digital Constrains as Inhibiting Factors for the Social Mobility of Gamers

The article addresses the issue of stigma faced by professional esports athletes as an emerging socio-professional group. Using data from public opinion surveys, industry reviews, and international research, it shows that institutional recognition of esports in Russia has substantially outpaced its legitimation in everyday consciousness. The article proposes a four-component typology of stigma (including the bodily, characterologi-cal, gender-based, and professional-status-based components), which was reconstructed from E. Goffman’s approach. The study also identifies the phenomenon of simultaneous contradictory institutional decisions – an acknowledgement of esports as a sport and the medicalization of gaming activities. A counterintuitive effect of increased gender-based stigma against the backdrop of a growing female audience is documented. It is ar-gued that digital constrains of 2024–2026 have formed a new technology-driven layer of stigma specific to the Russian context. Theoretical implications for the sociology of professions of the digital era are outlined.

RELIGIOUS MODERATION: The Middle Way in the Midst of the Noise of Differences in the Digital Era

Religious moderation is one of the important strategies in maintaining the harmony of the lives of the pluralistic Indonesian people in the midst of the rapid development of digital technology. The uncontrolled flow of information through digital media presents opportunities as well as challenges, especially the increasing spread of radicalism, hoaxes, hate speech, and religion-based social polarization. This research aims to analyze the implementation of religious moderation in the context of pluralistic Indonesian society and identify challenges and strategies to strengthen it in the digital era. This research uses a qualitative approach with the library research method through the study of various scientific literature, books, journal articles, and relevant documents. The data was analyzed using content analysis techniques to identify concepts, findings, and patterns related to religious moderation and digital literacy. The results show that digitalization expands people's access to religious knowledge, but at the same time increases the risk of spreading intolerant content, radicalism, hoaxes, and hate speech that can threaten social cohesion. In addition, social experiences through interfaith interactions in the educational environment, community, and Real Work Lectures activities have proven to be effective learning media in instilling the values of religious moderation. This experience has shaped critical thinking skills, tolerant attitudes, and wisdom in responding to religious information in the digital space. Thus, strengthening religious moderation in the digital era requires the integration of inclusive social experiences and strengthening digital literacy so that people are able to interact critically, responsibly, and maintain unity in a plural life.

The influence of Islam on the value orientations of contemporary youth

The relevance of the study is determined by the growing influence of Islamic norms on youth value orientations amid transformed religious communication and the digitalisation of the socio-cultural environment. The study aimed to identify how Islamic values shape youth orientations through religious identity, socialisation practices, and mechanisms for disseminating religious norms. The research employed theoretical analysis of scholarly, religious-studies, and digital materials, using comparison, systematisation, functional analysis, and content analysis. Five types of religious self identification were identified: nominal, cultural-traditional, rationalised, practising, and deep spiritual ethical. They differed in the depth and mode of internalising Islamic norms, ranging from symbolic affiliation and emotional attachment to family traditions to cognitive acceptance, behavioural observance, and integration into moral decision-making. Digital channels, especially social networks and mobile applications, ensured broad outreach and promoted individualised interpretations of religious meanings, whereas mosques, educational centres, and families supported normative stability. Online lectures primarily strengthened the cognitive component, social networks the emotional component, and traditional media behavioural consistency. More intensive religious practices contributed to transforming Islamic norms into stable regulators of moral conduct. The findings may support sociologists, religious scholars, educators, religious institutions, and youth policy analysts in developing engagement models that combine traditional and digital forms of religious socialisation.