Social Media as an Arena for Constructing Historical Memory

The paper focuses on the problem of constructing historical memory on social media. In digital era, perception of the past is created by masses of Internet users who display their interpretation of history on social networks. The tools of reproducing the past are information fakes, digital photos and selfies, Internet memes, computer games, fanfiction and videos on historic topics, created by Internet users in enormous quantities. Social media are the arena where historical memory is shaped, as all information resources, including those on historical subjects, are accumulated in the digital space. Number of Internet users, skilled in digital technologies for producing information content, actively use them to create their own versions of the past and spread them among a broad audience. The specific characteristic of reproduced perceptions of the past on social media is their emotional nature, mythologizing and stereotyping. Users create their own versions of historical events that match the shared perception of the past that is associated with the stories and symbols of popular culture. New commemorative practices are emerging in social media as people immerse in the digital virtual space.