Features of the basic values transformation in the changing reality (on the example of the Republic of Belarus)

Abstract

The article presents the data of two research projects-European Values Study (EVS) and sociological monitoring of the information field of the Republic of Belarus conducted by the Centre for Sociological and Political Studies of the Belarusian State University. The authors make the following conclusions: The basic values of the Belarusians are quite similar to the values of other European countries; the values of the Belarussians have developed for centuries under the influence of the key events in the European history; the values of society change slowly and can be transformed only in the life cycle of at least two generations; changes in the basic values are impossible under any external or internal pressure. Any attempts to quickly change value preferences of the people under pressure usually lead to the accumulation of negative moods and finally to social upheavals. Contemporary technologies open wide opportunities for informational violence and manipulation of public consciousness. The informational impact of the traditional media and the Internet (including social media) became one of the main factors affecting the structure and content of individual value orientations. The media create the sustainable intellectual background that determines the individual perception and subsequent behavioral response to events in the country and the world. The changing everyday reality forms a new value matrix, and the media become the key technological player due to the new information-communication possibilities.