The intensive development of new information and communication technologies (ICT) has led to major changes in society. The widespread use of smartphones and mobile communications has allowed today to create new programs and services to improve human life. This development changes the established habits of human communication, the relationship between society and the environment. A social networking service (SNS) is a service (on a website or through a mobile application) that allows users to share a personal profile and establish contacts with other users. Social networking services affect the territorial organization of society and can be used for the development of both settlements and entire territories to make their development more sustainable and balanced.
The study of social networking services is currently on the rise. The joint efforts of many sciences (sociology, psychology, geography, mathematics, statistics, computer science, etc.) are needed to understand the subject essence of the phenomenon and to analyze data.
Approaches to the study of social networking services can be divided into three large groups: 1) in terms of human relations and relationships; 2) in terms of content distributed on the network; 3) in terms of spatial aspects of the functioning of the social network. In Ukraine, there are no detailed studies of the spatial aspects of the spread of social networking services at the local level.
In the Ternopil region, there is a pattern of concentration of the majority of Facebook and Instagram users in the largest cities, namely Ternopil, Chortkiv, Berezhany, Kremenets. Buchach, Borshchiv, Zalishchyky, Terebovlya, and Shumsk districts stand out among the districts by the number of users.
An important indicator that characterizes the spread of social networking services is the penetration rate of the social network, which is calculated as the ratio of the number of users in a certain territory to the population living in it. Cities of regional subordination differ in terms of the penetration rate of SNS. The highest values were observed in Chortkiv, Ternopil, Kremenets cities. The penetration rate of social networking services in the administrative districts of Ternopil region is much lower. A relatively high rate (over 30%) was recorded in Buchach, Berezhany and Shumsk districts. Extremely low penetration rate (less than 5%) is in Zbarazh, Chortkiv, Zboriv districts which are adjacent to the cities of regional subordination.
The social networking service Instagram is inferior to Facebook in level of development, and its main users are mainly young people. However, in the territories where the rate of Facebook penetration is the lowest in the region (Ternopil, Zbarazh, Chortkiv, Zboriv districts), the predominance of Instagram is noted.
Thus, the main patterns of spatial distribution of SNS’ Facebook and Instagram in Ternopil region are: concentration of users in the largest cities, especially in the regional center Ternopil City (half of Facebook and Instagram users in the region); the number of users is proportional to the population in the territorial unit; small number of users and low penetration rate of the SNS’ in the administrative districts adjacent to the cities of regional subordination Ternopil and Chortkiv; among administrative districts, higher indicators of social network development are typical for northern and southern districts in comparison with central ones.
Key words: social networking service (SNS), penetration rate of the SNS, Facebook, Instagram, Ternopil region.
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