Comments in the VKontakte Social Network as a Discourse Practice of Student Youth

Abstract

The authors used the method of quantitative and qualitative content analysis to study the online discourse of students in order to classify the elements of the commentary text. The analysis revealed certain cases, patterns, and phenomena that could be described as regular. The research featured several communities in the VKontakte social network connected with the Kemerovo State University. The online discourse demonstrated some linguistic peculiarities. The main discussion topics differed in values, judgments, emotional tone, creativity, and self-expression: academic process, life management, relationships (friendship, love, and family), health, existential issues (social role and future), and social criticism. The functions involved identification, information, affiliation, psychotherapy, and creativity. By learning the features of online communication, academic staff can develop effective and consistent communication with students. The informal linguistic environment of social nets contains extralinguistic factors that manifest themselves in online discourse and reveals the ideology of young people, their values, attitudes, and opinions on important matters.