DIGITAL SOCIAL CONTROL AS A FACTOR IN IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

At present, digitalization and digital transformation are actively penetrating various spheres of public life, more and more new forms of their mass application are emerging, and citizens' access to information technologies is expanding. All these processes, of course, emphasize the need to "digitize" the modern system of public control in the space of the city and the region. To study the implementation problems and the prospects for introducing a system of digital social control over the activities of government bodies in modern Russia in 2021-2022, an empirical sociological study was conducted using the methods of a questionnaire survey and expert interviews. The data collection method was a questionnaire survey of Russian citizens aged 18-60 (n=2256 people) living in Russia. Heads of state and executive authorities, heads of commercial organizations, representatives of the academic community (n=25) were invited as experts. As a result of the study, the main problems of introducing digital social control were identified: difficulties in adapting to new digital technologies, difficulties in replacing traditional forms of social control with innovative ones, low digital culture of the population, as well as financial, technical, and administrative barriers. To effectively solve the above problems, we believe that it is necessary to further develop civil society institutions, increase the transparency of power, apply digital solutions to increase the transparency and efficiency of government bodies.