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<article article-type="research-article" dtd-version="1.3" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xml:lang="ru"><front><journal-meta><journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">steps</journal-id><journal-title-group><journal-title xml:lang="ru">Шаги/Steps</journal-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="en"><trans-title>Shagi / Steps</trans-title></trans-title-group></journal-title-group><issn pub-type="ppub">2412-9410</issn><issn pub-type="epub">2782-1765</issn><publisher><publisher-name>The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration</publisher-name></publisher></journal-meta><article-meta><article-id custom-type="edn" pub-id-type="custom">NTXSQA</article-id><article-id custom-type="elpub" pub-id-type="custom">steps-1108</article-id><article-categories><subj-group subj-group-type="heading"><subject>Research Article</subject></subj-group><subj-group subj-group-type="section-heading" xml:lang="ru"><subject>КОНСТРУИРОВАНИЕ «ДРУГОГО» В МЕДИА</subject></subj-group></article-categories><title-group><article-title>Сreating otherness through social media usage: Why and how Old Believers spend time on different media platforms</article-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="en"><trans-title>Сreating otherness through social media usage: Why and how Old Believers spend time on different media platforms</trans-title></trans-title-group></title-group><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes"><contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4486-5367</contrib-id><name-alternatives><name name-style="eastern" xml:lang="ru"><surname>Dushakova</surname><given-names>N. S.</given-names></name><name name-style="western" xml:lang="en"><surname>Dushakova</surname><given-names>N. S.</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="ru"><p>Наталья Сергеевна Душакова, PhD старший научный сотрудник, Департамент научной деятельности</p><p>125047, Москва, Миусская пл., д. 6</p></bio><bio xml:lang="en"><p>Natalia Sergheevna Dushakova, PhD Senior Researcher, Department of Academic Activities</p><p>125047, Moscow, Miusskaya Sq., 6</p></bio><email xlink:type="simple">dushakova@list.ru</email><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-1"/></contrib></contrib-group><aff-alternatives id="aff-1"><aff xml:lang="ru">Российский государственный гуманитарный университет<country>Россия</country></aff><aff xml:lang="en">Russian State University for the Humanities<country>Russian Federation</country></aff></aff-alternatives><pub-date pub-type="collection"><year>2025</year></pub-date><pub-date pub-type="epub"><day>21</day><month>12</month><year>2025</year></pub-date><volume>11</volume><issue>4</issue><fpage>167</fpage><lpage>179</lpage><permissions><copyright-statement>Copyright &amp;#x00A9; Dushakova N.S., 2025</copyright-statement><copyright-year>2025</copyright-year><copyright-holder xml:lang="ru">Dushakova N.S.</copyright-holder><copyright-holder xml:lang="en">Dushakova N.S.</copyright-holder><license license-type="creative-commons-attribution" xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" xlink:type="simple"><license-p>This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.</license-p></license></permissions><self-uri xlink:href="https://steps.ranepa.ru/jour/article/view/1108">https://steps.ranepa.ru/jour/article/view/1108</self-uri><abstract><p>Статья посвящена тому, каким образом и с какой целью российские старообрядцы разных согласий используют социальные медиа. На основе наблюдений в цифровой среде (онлайн-этнография) и интервью со старообрядческими религиозными лидерами, администраторами телеграм-каналов и страниц старообрядческих общин в социальной сети «ВКонтакте», а также с активными пользователями соцсетей рассматриваются различия в использовании наиболее популярных медиаплощадок. В статье уделяется внимание тому, как сами сообщества меняются под влиянием использования социальных медиа, а также тому, как технические аффордансы разных площадок формируют оптимальную среду для взаимодействия старообрядцев и достижения поставленных целей в рамках онлайн коммуникации. Исследование показало, что в настоящее время старообрядцы используют «ВКонтакте» и Телеграм как основные площадки для цифровой проповеди, обмена новостями, трансляции важных для общин сообщений и очерчивания своего культурного пространства в Сети. На предпочтения площадки оказывает влияние возможность ограничивать доступ к данным, защищать их от копирования, использовать разные форматы данных, а также удобство переписки. При выборе способа взаимодействия с той или иной платформой старообрядцы поступают в соответствии со своими религиозными представлениями, а не следуя логике медиа. Доступ к социальным медиа не только объединяет, но и создает разрывы внутри сообществ в зависимости от взглядов на цели использования медиаплощадок (в то время как одни создают хронику своей общины в социальной сети, другие считают возможным обсуждать онлайн вопросы веры). Онлайн-коммуникация размывает границы сообществ, разделяя верующих при помощи тех же инструментов, которые призваны создавать безграничное пространство для общения.</p></abstract><trans-abstract xml:lang="en"><p>The article is devoted to the ways and purposes for which Russian Old Believers of different denominations use social media. Based on observations in the digital environment (online ethnography) and interviews with Old Believer religious leaders, administrators of Telegram channels and VK pages of Old Believer communities, as well as active users of social networks, the article examines the differences in the use of the most popular media platforms. The article focuses on how the communities themselves change under the influence of the use of social media, as well as how the technical affordances of different platforms form an optimal environment for interaction between Old Believers and achieving their goals in online communication. The study showed that Old Believers currently use VKontakte and Telegram as the main platforms for digital preaching, exchanging news, broadcasting messages important to the communities, and delineating their cultural space online. Platform preferences are influenced by the ability to restrict access to data, protect it from copying, use different data formats, as well as the convenience of correspondence. When choosing a way to interact with a particular platform, Old Believers act in accordance with their religious beliefs and not following the logic of the media. Access to social media not only unites but also divides communities, depending on views regarding the purposes of using media platforms (while some create a chronicle of their community on a social network, others consider it possible to discuss issues of faith online). Online communication blurs the boundaries of the communities, while dividing believers through the use of tools that are designed to create a limitless space for communication.</p></trans-abstract><kwd-group xml:lang="ru"><kwd>старообрядцы</kwd><kwd>социальные медиа</kwd><kwd>«ВКонтакте»</kwd><kwd>Телеграм</kwd><kwd>технические аффордансы</kwd><kwd>онлайн-сообщества</kwd><kwd>интернет-старообрядчество</kwd></kwd-group><kwd-group xml:lang="en"><kwd>Old Believers</kwd><kwd>social media</kwd><kwd>VK</kwd><kwd>Telegram</kwd><kwd>technical affordances</kwd><kwd>online communities</kwd><kwd>Internet Old Believers</kwd></kwd-group><funding-group xml:lang="ru"><funding-statement>Исследование выполнено за счет гранта Российского научного фонда № 23-78-10113, https://rscf.ru/project/23-78-10113/.</funding-statement></funding-group><funding-group xml:lang="en"><funding-statement>The research is supported by Russian Science Foundation № 23-78-10113, https://rscf.ru/en/project/23-78-10113/.</funding-statement></funding-group></article-meta></front><back><ref-list><title>References</title><ref id="cit1"><label>1</label><citation-alternatives><mixed-citation xml:lang="ru">Boytsova, A. 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