The influence of opinion leaders in the media space on the worldview and language culture of ukrainian society

Abstract

Relevance of research. In today’s world, where information spreads at an incredible speed, the role of opinion leaders, people who have a significant influence on the audience and can shape their thoughts and behavior, becomes especially important. Despite the increase in Ukrainian-language content in the Internet space after the start of a full-scale invasion, the problem of the spread of language errors and non-compliance with language norms in the Ukrainian language, in particular, in the blogosphere and social networks, is gaining relevance. Young people are particularly susceptible to the influence of opinion leaders. Violation of language norms by these people can lead to the fact that young people will consider these mistakes as the norm, which determines the relevance of our research. This article is aimed at solving the problem and provides practical recommendations for both opinion leaders and every Ukrainian to prevent violations of language norms in the media space. The purpose. Conducting an analysis of violations of language norms that occur in the Ukrainian-language media space under the influence of opinion leaders, in particular TikTok and YouTube bloggers. Research methodology. A number of scientific approaches and methods were used in the research process: content analysis – to study the influence of opinion leaders in the media space on the language culture of Ukrainian society through social media classification method – for systematization of identified violations of language norms, which helped to understand the main problems of language culture and identify the main directions for further analysis and development of recommendations; methods of comparative and logical analysis – to identify cause-and-effect relationships between language disorders and their impact on the speech environment. The scientific novelty. A study of the influence of opinion leaders in the modern media space. The article reveals both the side effects of such influence and emphasizes the possible lowering of the status of the language and the degradation of linguistic culture due to the spread of linguistic errors and non-compliance with linguistic norms. The article contains specific practical recommendations for opinion leaders and the general public to prevent violations of language norms in the media space, which can contribute to raising the level of speech culture and preserving the linguistic identity of Ukrainian society. The conclusions. Violation of the language norms of the Ukrainian language by opinion leaders in the media space, among bloggers on the TikTok and YouTube platforms, is a rather serious problem that has many negative consequences: it can lead to distortion of content, incorrect perception of information by the audience and a decrease in the general level of linguistic culture among users, especially among young people. The recommendations provided in the article are aimed at improving the quality of bloggers’ speech and increasing the level of language literacy in the media space. All these factors highlight the importance of drawing attention to the issue of language literacy and adherence to language norms among opinion leaders in the media space, which may become a relevant topic for further research. The obtained conclusions should become the basis for the development of specific recommendations aimed at increasing the level of language culture in the media space and avoiding the negative impact of social media on Ukrainian society.