Social media as a tool of value formation

Public opinion is formed largely through the influence of the media. Over the last few years various social media has appeared. Due to accessibility and interactivity of social media, it is regarded as one of the most promising tools of socialization and identity formation, including ethnical identity. This article is based on the research devoted to studying of the mass media effect on the formation of values, ways of symbolic boundaries between center and periphery, and ethnic identity. The role of traditional social institutions (such as schools, human environment, religious institutions, etc.) involved in the ethnic identity of the individual is partly influenced by modern mass media. They offer values and normative basis for the value orientations and ethnic identity.