Conflictogenic topics in everyday communication among youth (based on materials from an interdisciplinary study in Barnaul)

The emergence of conflicts in a society where various values, interests, and moods coexist among different social groups is an inevitable process. The basis for the development of this process can be a series of events as well as a specific action or inaction. The theoretical and methodological framework is based on classical theories of social conflict (by G. Simmel, L. Coser, M. Deutsch, K. Boulding, R. Dahrendorf, and others) and contemporary works by domestic theorists and practitioners (A.G. Zdravomyslova, N.V. Grishina, B.I. Hasan, Y.E. Rastov, A.Ya. Antsupov, A.I. Shipilov, A.S. Karmin, S.M. Emelyanova, and others), emphasizing the "normality" of conflictual interaction in any society. The article emphasizes that at the level of social communities, the procedure for identifying the sources of conflict and the trajectory of its development requires the use of a systemic approach to studying the broad phenomenon of conflictogenity. Furthermore, the necessity of managing the conflictogenity of society is noted, i.e., maintaining its level below a threshold value, after which the development of a destructive conflict begins. Within the framework of the topic, a methodology was developed, and a sociological study was conducted among the youth of Barnaul (ages 18-35). The survey involved 342 respondents selected by gender and age (quota sampling). In the second phase, in-depth interviews were conducted (n=16). This research provides a detailed understanding of conflictogenic topics in the everyday communication of youth. According to the results, the following conclusions were drawn. First, there is a certain regularity in the choice of conflictogenic topics, influenced by the age and social status of the youth. Second, conflictogenic themes in communication primarily address social issues related to economic and political processes, as well as moral changes reflected in the behavior of young people. Third, in everyday communication among youth on conflictogenic topics in an online format, the frequency of conflicts is lower, which contradicts the initial assumption. Fourth, one of the sources of conflictogenicity in the youth environment of Barnaul is the low level of development of certain objects of the city's social infrastructure. Thus, the study emphasizes the importance of understanding conflictogenic topics in youth communication and their impact on social interactions and emotional states.

conflict, conflictogen, conflictogenicity, young people, social group, society, social tension, everyday interaction, social dynamics, communication