Social Networks as a Phenomenon of the Information Society

Social networks, which emerged due to the rapid development of modern telecommunications and information technologies that led to the emergence of the Internet, can be viewed as a phenomenon of the information society. In a short time, there has been both quantitative and qualitative growth of social networks, which have become a common phenomenon in our life and the dominant way of communication of social groups in the Internet space. The article tells about the history of the emergence and development of social networks, presents a classification following their primary functionality, discloses and gives characteristics to the main opportunities that they provide to the information society. The article analyzes and compiles a popularity rating (by the number of active users) of social networks in the world and Ukraine, analyzes the motives of users visiting social networks in Ukraine and examines the main age groups by the activity of using social networks, and analyzes the development and causes of failures of Ukrainian social networks.