DIGITAL INEQUALITY AS A FACTOR OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION OF KAZAKHSTANI SOCIETY

Abstract

The article discusses several ideological, conceptual, and methodological issues related to the emergence of a new foundation for the stratification of Kazakh society - digitalization. The objective of this article is to examine the distinctive characteristics of digital stratification within Kazakhstani society. This analysis will encompass an investigation of the positive and negative implications for the population of modern Kazakhstan, as well as an assessment of potential future developments. Additionally, this study will explore potential avenues for optimising the current situation. The theoretical basis of the research is the classical and modern concepts of social stratification: the multidimensional model of stratification of M. The theory of social stratification by P. Sorokin, the theory of "social space" by P. Bourdieu, and the concept of digital capital as a key resource by M. Ragnedda. As an empirical base, the results of sociological research conducted by the IFPR in 2022-2023 were used.

The main results of the study: digitalization has a contradictory impact on Kazakh society; digital resource, along with income, power, profession, etc., becomes a factor of social stratification of society, generating digital inequality; residents of several local rural communities are becoming socially vulnerable and less competitive in the labor market due to the inaccessibility of the Internet, the lack of technical means to ensure its use; digital tools create deceptive or alternative realities and thereby weaken and even reduce the influence of official institutions. The conclusions of the work will be useful both for developing a general line of modernization regarding the stratification system of Kazakhstan's population within the framework of digitalization and for determining specific ways to manage these processes, taking into account the differentiation of interests, value concepts and worldview beliefs of various social groups.

Key words: stratification, digitalization, digital inequality, Internet.