“Upper Lars” in network media: mechanism for the formation of social solidarity and self-organization

The article examines the influence of modern practices of information and communication on the behavioral strategies of youth on the example of the local situation on the Russian-Georgian border in September 2022, after the announcement of partial mobilization during a special military operation. Designated in various media as a “humanitarian catastrophe” and “collapse”, the situation at the Upper Lars checkpoint has become an indicator of a number of social problems. The huge flow of young people who decided to leave the country, caused by partial mobilization, created a situation in which fugitives and patriots, volunteers and corrupt officials, nonresident and local, faced. The aim of the article is to identify the content of network media, which manifests the motivations of different groups of young people, their attitude to the current situation, material and social problems, values and priorities. The composition of the “queue” on Upper Lars, the motives of volunteerism and “illegal entrepreneurship”, attitudes toward relocants and corrupt practices were determined. Conclusion dwells upon the fact that social media play a role in shaping social solidarity and self-organization.