Manipulation As a Social Phenomenon

Abstract

Since the beginning of the 21st century, due to large-scale informatization and digitalization of modern society, manipulation technologies have undergone great changes. There is a large number of studies on the technologies and characteristics of mass manipulation, however most of them highlight an unambiguously negative mode of manipulation, while positive connotations are not taken into account or devalued. In this regard, the purpose of the study is to formulate a definition of social manipulation, taking into account its characteristics, to determine the significant aspects of mass manipulation in the context of the development of modern society. The research methodology is based on system-functional, comparative, existential-phenomenological approaches. For the first time, the focus of the analysis is social characteristics that actualize and transform theories and practices of mass manipulation in modern society. The key functions, technologies and tasks of manipulation in various spheres of public life, including political ones, are considered. The author pays attention to the fact that by depriving an individual of existential freedom and creating new risks, manipulation at the same time can create conditions for development for each member and society. It is concluded that manipulation can act as a means of structuring the social space, which increases the efficiency of the activity of the subject of manipulation.