Representation of historical memory in social network communities

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the representation of historical memory in social network communities. The purpose of this study is to identify current trends in some aspects of historical memory on social media. The study has been conducted on the three most popular networks in Ukraine, namely: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube. A comprehensive approach with the application of specialized software has been used for data collection. 468 communities from three social networks, the topics of which correspond to the search queries “Історія України”, “История Украины”, “History of Ukraine”, “Історія села”, “СCСР”, have been studied. The analysis of the obtained data has revealed that some groups formed a new category of educational groups. Further processing of the data has shown that groups often aim to break myths and promote “correct” history. Another category of groups is focused on the problem of preserving historical memory at the local level or the history of a particular industry. These trends demonstrate that social network communities are an indirect state of historical memory at the societal level, which, in turn, confirms Jameson’s thesis of the “New Historicism” of “installing historical attractions” and resisting theory.