Anecdote as the territory of (dis)agreement: public attention rating in 2018

Abstract

This article discusses the extent to which a folklore text is a symptom of public interest in current social and political events. The conclusions of the article are based on the analysis of a database of humorous texts, popular among Russian users of social networks during 2018. The authors analyze folklore reactions in social networks to various events in 2018 according to the three indicators: the activity coefficient (activity of reposting a joke), the intensity factor (steadiness of interest in an event) and the disputability factor (comment activity). The analysis makes it possible to see what unites and divides Russian social media users in 2018. Solidarization of users of social networks through reposting of jokes occurs in case of events threating their life itself or its quality (terrorist attacks, catastrophes, poverty). According to some users, the state could or even should have prevented all these. The political processes in the country are highly significant for users, but they are much more controversial. Polarization follows the line of popular attitudes towards a particular figure - the president. Topics of the past and the future, as well as “being stuck” in the past, also provoke disputes: humorous texts discuss the validity of various forms of memory, the need for certain actions to preserve it, as well as the admissibility of appeal to “outdated” practices and approaches.